The global deliveries of the new AUDI TT RS to commence soon. The folks in the UK can lay their hands on the most powerful TT ever to enter series production, the 400 PS Audi TT RS, by the end of this year. The engine is a five-cylinder unit Audi TT RS can be ordered in the UK from late September in all-new, 400PS form and will be priced from £51,800 OTR (approximately INR 46 lakh). Deliveries will commence in November 2016. The new Audi TT RS will be available in Coupé and Roadster form and will bring the option of new Audi Matrix OLED lighting technology on stream for the first time.
Lighter than its predecessor by 26kg, the newly developed five-cylinder, 2.5-litre TFSI engine with dual injection and Audi Valvelift technology brings to bear a 17 per cent increase in performance in the latest TT RS. The considerable uplift in power and torque – from 340PS in the outgoing ‘standard’ car to 400PS and from 450Nm to 480Nm – facilitates a searing 0-62mph sprint time of 3.7 seconds (Roadster 3.9 seconds) on the way to a governed top speed of 155mph. This peak can be raised to 174mph if the optional Dynamic Package Plus is specified.
The weight of the seven-speed S tronic transmission has also been reduced by around 2kg thanks to a new angle drive to the prop shaft. Its shift characteristics can be tailored to the driver’s requirements via the Audi Drive Select adaptive dynamics system, which offers Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual modes. These also have a bearing on the operating parameters of the RS-specific progressive steering, the throttle, the exhaust flaps and the quattro all-wheel drive system.
The body of the TT RS sits ten millimetres lower than the entry level TT, and this also applies when the Dynamic Package incorporating RS sport suspension plus with Audi magnetic ride is specified. Employing special dampers filled with synthetic oil in which magnetic particles, Audi magnetic ride is able to adapt the damper’s operating characteristic to the profile of the road and style of the driver at millisecond intervals. It is another feature that can be modulated using the onboard Audi Drive Select system.
The lowered body ensures that the standard 19-inch cast wheels with their five-arm polygon design fill their arches even more amply. They are available in either silver, matt titanium look or gloss anthracite black finishes, as are the 20-inch 7-spoke rotor design alternatives which are exclusively available on the TT RS as an option.
Braking duties are performed by 370mm internally ventilated, perforated steel discs with eight-piston calipers upfront and 310mm monobloc discs at the rear. Stainless steel pins join the friction ring to the aluminium brake disc chambers to dissipate the heat quickly. Carbon ceramic front discs which are particularly abrasion-resistant and light are available as an option for especially committed drivers.
Standout features on the Audi TT RS include the large air inlets, a Singleframe grille with a newly designed honeycomb lattice and quattro logo, aerodynamically-shaped side sills and of course a fixed rear wing sitting on two thin double struts. Owners keen to play down the performance potential at their disposal can swap this for the automatically extending spoiler familiar from the ‘mainstream’ TT models if required. Beneath this is a bumper with a strongly profiled diffuser insert with four vertical fins flanked by the large bore elliptical tailpipes of the RS exhaust system.
The stocky body can be specified in a choice of nine ‘standard’ colours, including the RS-specific tones Nardo grey and Catalunya red, metallic. In addition to this, numerous customised paint finishes are available through the Audi exclusive programme. All can be combined with optional matt aluminium and gloss black styling packages which soften or darken the look of the Singleframe grille surround, RS rear spoiler blade and diffuser insert.
Inside, the super sports seats upholstered in Fine Nappa leather and the TT RS sport leather and Alcantara steering wheel with its new integral ‘satellite’ buttons for engine start/stop and Audi Drive Select functions are the first to grab attention.
The fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with its 12.3-inch high definition provides a choice of three views, including a special RS screen that highlights the rev counter and provides additional performance data plus a shift light. Upon request, the RS screen can also display individual tyre pressures. The virtual cockpit displays mapping from the MMI navigation plus system which is standard for UK TT RS models in full ‘wide screen’ format. It also serves as the interface for the Audi Connect online services which are included as standard on a three-year subscription basis and can be extended at the end of the term. Highlights of Audi Connect include Google Earth mapping and Google Street View, online weather updates, travel information and news, access to Twitter and integration of a Wi-Fi hotspot for in-car web browsing on personal devices.
Key technology options include the Audi phone box, which enables compatible mobile phones to be charged inductively and paired with the onboard antennae for optimal reception, and the new Audi smartphone interface displaying selected apps from a user’s handset directly in the Audi virtual cockpit. The Bang & Olufsen sound system is another highlight for fans of excellent acoustics.
The TT RS can be specified with Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) rear lights. These advanced new lamps in 3D design comprise four wafer-thin units, the largest of which bears the TT logo and the four Audi rings. They emit an extremely homogeneous, high-contrast light which can be continuously dimmed, does not cast any shadows and does not require any reflectors. The new Matrix OLED units are available as an alternative to the ‘standard’ LED rear lamps with their dynamic rear indicators. In a similar vein the standard LED headlights can also be replaced on request by Matrix LED lamps containing 12 separate controllable LEDs which form the high beam and can be individually shut off when sensors detect traffic ahead or approaching, to ‘divert’ their beam around other road users.
Check out the new Auti TT RS through a detailed image gallery below:
