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2005 Audi TT quattro sport Preview

More Power and Unique Features for Special Model

The Audi TT was a brilliant move for the German manufacturer. Short for "Tourist Trophy," the famous old race in the UK, the car was a blessing for Audi and its fans, thrusting Audi into the sport segment in which it had been absent since the Cabriolet and Coupe Quattro finished production.

The compact TT was built on the "A4" platform, the same chassis used to underpin the VW Golf, Jetta and New Beetle. It also used the same mechanical components, including the powerful little 1.8T 4-cylinder engine, with the addition of Haldex all-wheel drive.

But the TT was much more than a Golf copycat, or a "squashed" New Beetle, it was designed and built as a prestige sports

The TT was much more than a Golf copycat, or a "squashed" New Beetle, it was designed and built as a prestige sports coupe. (Photo: Audi of America)

coupe, a competitor to the Mercedes-Benz SLK and Porsches Boxster, among others. Tuned to reflect its sporting character, styled in a manner that set trends on highways and runways, and built to the same quality and with similar luxuries to any other Audi, the TT was the hit of the decade, the car to have.

Since then, the TT has remained a strong seller and an outlet for parent company VAGs (Volkswagen AG) mechanical advancements,

The TT rekindled Audis touring car reputation through the highly competitive DTM racing series. (Photo: Audi of America)

including the narrow-angle 3.2-liter V6 and the Borg-Warner-designed dual-clutch six-speed sequential gearbox. The TT also rekindled Audis touring car reputation through the highly competitive DTM racing series, shown in North America on Speed Channel.

Nowadays, the TT is starting to show its age. As the competition successively updates itself, Audis diminutive coupe and roadster duo is beginning to lag behind in dynamics while its once futuristic styling is starting to look almost dated, due to familiarity alone. The good news is that Audi is working on

Audi is sending the TT off with a final hurrah, a lightweight variant called the TT quattro sport. (Photo: Audi of America)

a follow up, but in the meantime the stylish brand is sending the first generation off with a final hurrah - a lightweight variant called the TT quattro sport (lower case intentional).

The TT quattro sport represents the best of what Audi has to offer, at least with respect to its two-door model. It is based on the hardtop coupe, but mixes technical elements of the 225- and 250-horsepower models. Under its hood is the trusty 1.8T 20-valve inline-four, which has now been tuned to deliver a substantial 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. The engine delivers almost the same power and punch of the top-of-the-line TT 3.2 (V6), without the extra weight the larger displacement

The trusty 1.8T 20-valve inline-four, has been tuned to deliver a substantial 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Audi of America)

engine adds over the front wheels.

While the now-famous DSG sequential gearbox would have been an excellent pairing with the more powerful inline four, Audi couldnt justify making the components for such a low-volume production model. Therefore it made perfect sense for quattro sport buyers to "make do" with an almost conventional six-speed manual gearbox. Almost conventional? Yes, the six-speed manual gets the same gears as the Euro-spec 3.2L V6 car, although the transmission housing is unaltered from the North American-spec 6-speed manual unit.

As its name suggests, this particular TT also comes equipped with quattro permanent all-wheel drive - the same system as used in the 225 and 3.2 models. In Canada the 225-horsepower all-wheel drive

The TT quattro sport has been put on a diet in order to shed some weight and improve performance. (Photo: Audi of America)

TT is standard by the way, so other than the boost in power nothing particularly new there, but here at home TT buyers can get a less expensive, 180-horsepower, front-wheel drive version of the TT 1.8T. Arent we special!

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