2010 Audi TT RS: rocket engine boosts appeal

JIM KENZIE FOR THE TORON TO STAR

The Audi TT RS, which comes in coupe and convertible editions, sports the power and handling enhancements of the carmaker’s tuning division, quattro GmbH. The turbo five-cylinder engine produces 340 hp. Pricing will be released closer to the introduction late this year.

Jim Kenzie

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

ZOLDER, Belgium–There is nothing wrong with "cute.''

Or "pretty."

Even "gorgeous."

But if an automobile is going to be accepted as a pure sports car, it's got to have more than aesthetics going for it.

That's been part of the challenge facing the Audi TT since the first drop-dead gorgeous coupe arrived in 1998.

The second-generation car debuted in 2006. Technically, it was superior in every way and still very attractive, if not as traffic-stopping as the original.

But did BMW Z4 or Porsche Boxster/Cayman intenders give it a look? I may be selling the TT short here, but when mid-priced premium sports cars were being discussed, the TT was probably not top-of-mind.

How to counter the belief it wasn't a serious machine? Make it go faster than a squirrel in a hurricane.

Enter quattro GmbH, Audi's in-house go-faster company, analogous to Mercedes's AMG or BMW's M.

Its trademark is RS – Road Sport, Rally Sport, Really Special – take your pick.

It's waved its magic wand in the direction of the TT, creating the TT RS, available in both two-seat roadster and two-plus-a-very-small-two coupe body styles.

The key to any hot car is a hot engine.

All previous TTs have had four or six cylinders; this one splits the difference with a new five-cylinder which, of course, hearkens back to the early days of Audi's domination of the World Rally Championship scene, with its mighty quattro Sport turbocharged fives.

The TT RS's 2.5-litre five-pot uses Audi's FSI direct fuel injection, variable valve timing and a large turbocharger to generate loads of torque low down in the rev range – it peaks at a very substantial 332 lb.-ft. at just 1600 r.p.m., and stays there until 5300 r.p.m. Power tops out at 340 horses.

Only a new six-speed manual transmission is offered as Audi does not have a version of its brilliant Dual Shift Gearbox (dual-clutch transmission) that can handle this sort of grunt – although both BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster/Cayman do.

The partially aluminum structure helps keep the weight down to 1,450 kg for the coupe, an additional 60 kg for the roadster. This latter number is 90 kg more than the Porsche Boxster, which is at least partially explained by the TT RS's standard four-wheel drive.

Audi claims a 0-to-100 km/h sprint time of 4.6 seconds for the coupe, which is a tick or two quicker than the claimed time for the new Boxster S (5.0 seconds with the manual gearbox, 4.9 with Porsche's Dual Clutch gearbox, or 4.7 when equipped with the Sport Plus option), and handily quicker than the new BMW Z4 (300 hp, 1,365 kg, 5.2 seconds), Mercedes SLK (300 hp, 1,490 kg, 5.4 seconds) or Nissan 370Z (332 hp, 1,488 kg, 5.4 seconds).

The MacStrut front/four-link rear suspension gains a sport setting, which firms things up and lowers the car by 10 mm.

Optional (and fitted to both my test cars) is the Delphi magnetic ride system. The damper fluid contains magnetic particles, which can be aligned by application of an electric field, instantly changing the damping characteristics based on inputs from various sensors throughout the car.

Essentially, this allows the set-up to be nominally somewhat softer to improve ride, but to automatically firm up during aggressive driving.

Visually, the RS has unique wheels, a redesigned front end with massive air intakes on either side of the main horseshoe grille, rocker panel extensions, and a rear diffuser incorporating dual oval tailpipes.

It all adds to the right degree of aggression to the base TT's prettiness.

Inside, the expected Audi level of fit and finish is in evidence, done mostly in black with matte aluminum trim details. Supportive sport seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, updated instruments and "TT RS" badges here and there remind you this is no ordinary TT.

The coupe offers two rear seats, but they are not much more than grocery bag shelves. The roadster does away with them entirely.

Like the Boxster, the TT roadster stays with a fabric roof instead of the increasingly common (SLK, Z4) folding steel unit. Audi claims lower weight, better packaging and more graceful design, top up or down, with this concept. Certainly, the TT RS's trunk space, while not very large, is more usable than the BMW's or Merc's.

The roof zips up or down in about 12 seconds.

Our test route took us from Cologne, Germany, through bits of The Netherlands to the Formula One race circuit at Zolder, Belgium – infamous for being where Gilles Villeneuve lost his life in a practice crash.

I drove a roadster there, and the coupe on the track and back to Cologne.

On the road, the TT RS is remarkably civilized, with the magnetic ride system doing its thing, cosseting the occupants very nicely.

The roadster had a fair degree of wind and road noise when the top was up, perhaps a downside to the fabric roof, or maybe a function of the aggressive tread on the tires.

Top down, drafts are decently controlled. It was a cool, cloudy day, so the seat heaters came in handy.

The engine launches the car to whatever velocity you feel comfortable exploring, given that towns in this part of the world seem to have photo radar at every intersection.

The massive torque is wonderful. It also sounds terrific when wound up, with that characteristic five-cylinder warble.

The six-speed manual shifts beautifully, but I still missed the DSG.

One of the common concerns about four-wheel drive is that it tends to dull handling response. There is so much grip everywhere that you just steer the car through the corners.

But the TT RS allows some throttle steering, as we found out at the Zolder track. For example, lift in a bend and the nose tucks in gently. There is some steadying understeer in hard acceleration, but the car is truly rewarding at speed.

The price of the TT RS won't be released until closer to the car's launch date in late 2009.

The base front-drive TT starts at $46,900. The closest thing to a TT RS at the moment is the 265-horse TTS quattro, which is only three-tenths slower to 100 km/h, does offer the DSG gearbox, and starts at $57,600, with the roadster another $4,300.

The TT RS will probably nudge 70 large, and you'll have to decide if it's worth the extra coin. For sure, nobody will ever say the TT RS isn't a serious sports car.

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