2010 Audi TT RS
Prior to the Audi R8, it was not very normal forAudi to get invited to any VIP celebration for contemporary sports car manufacturers. But now everybodyis aware of Audi’sability toconstruct a Porsche 911competitor.
The success of the R8seems quite enough to convince people thatInglostadt’sAudi TT RS canactually cause serious dangerto thereveredCayman S. Yet, on the road, the approach of TT RS to engineering is extremely sophisticated, even though it is very dissimilarto the Porsche’s — front vs. mid engine, 5-cylinder turbo vs. flat 6, mostly aluminum body vs. steel, electronically powered AWD vs. RWD.
The innovative and fascinating thing about the RS edition of the TT, is its turbo 5-cylinder. At first, it came with a 4-cylinder turbo along with a V-6. Then the sporty TT S shunned a V-6 in favor of a well pressurized turbo 4, aiming tomaintain the weight down. For the TT RS, low weight is very important, and that’swhy there isn’t V-6.
As an alternative,there is the new transverse 2.5-L turbo 5. Boasting 1.2 bars of boost and direct gas injection, it reaches 340 hp. Its torque levelgoes from 1600 rpm to more than 5000 (even though accompanied by a little lag at around 2500), which makes it easy to drive.
Audi enthusiasts consider the most important this about this car is its sound. It produces an offbeat harmony that sounds like the typical music of an original Quattro, which demonstrated the Audi as a great international sports car competitor in the 1980s. Surely, that turbo 5 does not have any similar components to this one, but there is the heritage.
The 5-ender might not sound as charismatic as a Cayman’s flat-6 at full chant, but the turbo muscle is immensely useful at the mid range of the rev. The muscle is too strong, and it may over-stress the transverse version of Audi’s S tronicdual-clutch AMT. Therefore,it has a short-throw 6-speed manual.
Audi states that it takes 4.6 seconds to reach 62 miles per hour, with the regular German 155 miles per hourmaximum speed. For a car without the limiter, buyers can pay extra money to get 174 miles per hour. It doesn’t take so long to reach that, and it feelstrue, stable, and proficientat the vital andcritical features of braking.
Audi’s Quattro GmbH department set the bar really high on management: they did both the R8 and the RS4. For their version of the TT, they took all possible measures. They made it lowered by 0.5 inch andstiffened, with fresh anti-roll bushes and bars, new steering options, firmer shocks, and brake rotors on aluminum centers. Normal rolling stock is 18-inches with Audi’s outstandingmagnetorheological damping system.
