Audi Unveils New TT RS, The Most Powerful TT ever

Audi has announced the introduction of the most powerful TT ever – the TT RS, featuring a newly developed five-cylinder engine, a tweaked chassis, as well as many high end features outside and inside the car. 

Available as a Coupe and in the form of a Roadster, powering the new TT RS is a new 2.5-litre TFSI five-cylinder aluminum engine which delivers 400 hp, which is 60 more than the power of the previous model, and a full 480Nm of torque is applied to the front and rear wheels.

As a result, the Coupé takes only 3.7 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph), and the Roadster on the other hand, takes 3.9 seconds. According to Audi, no other TT has sprinted this fast.

On the exterior level, notable features include the new Matrix OLED lights in 3D design, which are being implemented for the first time in a production Audi. And then, there are the large air inlets, a newly designed honeycomb grille with quattro logo, a fixed rear wing and two large, oval exhaust tailpipes.

As for the Roadster, its convertible top is an automatic acoustic soft top made of cloth. With its substructure components of magnesium, aluminum, steel and polymer, it weighs just 39 kilograms, which is three kilograms less than in the previous model. Audi claims that the soft top can open or close in just 10 seconds, even while driving at speeds up to 50 km/h.

Inside, Audi says the cockpit is inspired by racing cars, where all controls and display are focused completely on the driver. Similar to its bigger siblings, all information is displayed as standard on the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with 12.3-inch screen, where the driver can choose from three views, including a special RS screen that highlights the tachometer and provides information on tire pressure, torque and g-force, among other things.

One of the features worth mentioning here is that the tachometer also serves as a shift indicator. If the seven-speed S tronic is in manual mode, green, orange and red segments are activated sequentially as revs increase. Just before the engine reaches the limit, the entire scale flashes red.

Besides that, for the first time in the RS portfolio, the RS sport leather steering wheel with shift paddles has two satellite controls - for ignition and to control the Audi drive select dynamic handling system. From what we can see, the cabin of the TT RS looks like it was influenced heavily by the cabin of the R8.

In addition to its light weight of 1,440kg (Coupe) and 1,530kg (Roadster), the Audi TT RS has its sporty chassis to thank for its handling. Audi says that the progressive steering with RS-specific tuning provides close contact with the road and makes it a pleasure to drive challenging winding stretches.

At the front axle, ventilated and perforated steel discs are in action behind the 19-inch wheels – or 20-inch forged lightweight wheels as an option. Alternatively, lighter and particularly abrasion-resistant carbon-fiber ceramic discs are available.

At the back, a steel monoblock disc is used. As an option, Audi supplies the RS sport suspension plus with adaptive dampers in magnetic ride technology. In this case, the damping characteristic can be influenced electronically. The control technology is integrated into the Audi drive select dynamic handling system.

All that aside, Audi also offers a huge amount of high-end infotainment technology. The options include MMI navigation plus with MMI touch including free text search and natural language voice control, as well as the Audi connect online module and the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Using the Audi phone box, compatible cell phones can be charged inductively and paired with the onboard antenna for optimal reception. The Audi smartphone interface displays selected apps from the cell phone directly in the Audi virtual cockpit.

The Audi Sport Performance app is used to compare lap times on the racetrack. It displays speed, time difference, steering angle, g-forces as well as rpm, brake pressure and accelerator position on the smartphone.

It also indicates the current position of the TT RS on the racetrack. The cherry on the cake is of course, the Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. 

That said, there has not been any official word on whether the model will be coming to Malaysia, but since Audi Malaysia has already launched the TT S, it is highly likely that the RS will be making its way here in the near future. 

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