2016 Audi TT RS guns for Porsche Cayman S with £51,800 starting price

Coupé and Roadster versions of Audi’s new turbocharged TT RS use a 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine that produces 395bhp
12 September 2016

The second-generation Audi TT RS will go on sale later this month priced from £51,800 in Coupé form and £53,550 as a Roadster.

Those prices pitch the four-wheel drive TT RS directly against the new Porsche 718 Cayman S, which costs £48,834, and soft-top 718 Boxster S, which starts at £50,695.

Performance and 0-62mph time

The TT RS is the first recipient of Audi’s new turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine, which has an aluminium block instead of the current motor’s steel block. Using the aluminium block helps to shave 10kg off new TT RS's overall weight compared with its predecessor in fixed-roof form.

The new engine will pack a 395bhp punch and have a claimed 0-62mph time of 3.7sec. This is 0.4sec quicker than the old TT RS Plus with a dual-clutch gearbox and 0.5sec inside the time Porsche quotes for the new 345bhp turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder powered Cayman S.

With an added 90kg, the Roadster’s 0-62mph time is a claimed 3.9sec, which is 0.3sec quicker than the previous model. Top speed for both new TT RS models is limited to 155mph, although it can be raised to 174mph.

Our Verdict

Audi TT RS 2009-2014

Audi RS TT

The Audi TT RS is a car of highs and lows. The engine is wonderful and the Quattro’s hallmarks are all there to see. It just lacks the finesse of the Cayman.

Find an Autocar car review

Driven this week

Peak torque is 354lb ft between 1700 and an uncharacteristically high 5850rpm, 11lb ft more than the old model.

A seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox with TT RS-specific ratios is standard, along with launch control software and steering wheel-mounted shift paddles.

Chassis

The new TT RS rides on a chassis lowered by 10mm over the standard TT. Further changes include stiffer springs and dampers and standard 19in alloy wheels, ceramic brakes will be a pricey optional extra, costing around £4000.

Styling tweaks include new bumpers front and rear, wider door sills, deeper air intakes at the front end, oval exhaust pipes and a large rear fixed spoiler, although buyers can opt for a more subtle extendable spoiler. Also available are optional organic light emitting diode (OLED) tail-lights each consisting of four elements, the largest of which features the TT logo and Audi’s four-ring emblem.

This marks the first time a series production Audi has been fitted with OLED lights - we can expect more models to benefit from the tech from here on.

Audi only expects to sell around 50 models in the UK this year, with the Roadster variant accounting for around a third of that number.

Join the debate

Comments
13

Cyborg

25 April 2016
While the interior is still the best sports-car one out there. The clean external styling has been spoilt somewhat here by all that fussy detail around the lower front and rear ends and side-skirts.

Cyborg

Cyborg

25 April 2016
While the interior is still the best sports-car one out there. The clean external styling has been spoilt somewhat here by all that fussy detail around the lower front and rear ends and side-skirts.

Cyborg

sirwiggum

25 April 2016
That side view looks remarkably like a mk1 TT!

TS7

25 April 2016
Gee, wouldn't ya know it.

BertoniBertone

25 April 2016
Well, I'm sure Audi is delighted that those who want a 'multi-cylinder' can now get their acoustic kicks chez Ingolstadt, now that (sadly deluded) Porsche think people will pay over £ 60K for an optioned '4-pot' Boxster S....

BertoniBertone

NoPasaran

25 April 2016
This will be an interesting car!
I've had the previous one, manual with 400hp and 600Nm.
I liked it a lot, but it had a few negatives for me - the standard sport seats (not buckets) were no good for sporty driving. The navigation was worse than what I had on a Golf GTI two years earlier. Also, the car had no roof hatch, I missed that a lot. I wonder if they will add it as option this time, probably not.
Finally, the car under-steered quite severely in slow corners under gas. You could only do four-wheel slides when it was wet, otherwise it was not playful at all, just efficient and quick. When I drove 997 Turbo, which is not even the best steering 911, back to back with the TT RS I understood how much the Audi understeers.
Let's see if the lighter engine and revised Haldex will make the new car any better with respect to understeering.

No manual - no fun

bowsersheepdog

26 April 2016
The red and yellow ones are better than that awful grey. I still think that the first TT was the prettiest and it has got a little less so with each update. It's probably a better car now, but if I were to buy one it'd be the original.

I don't need to put my name here, it's on the left

 

Lapps

12 September 2016
Or you could buy an M2, have a lot more fun and a lot of money left over!

tomy90

12 September 2016
That is way too much for a Hot Audi TT, considering the BMW M2 is £44k list and be worse case scenario cost 54k if you tick every option possible and have every accessory BMW does for it. Hope it can justify that price point as I cant see any justification for that yet.

tomy90

12 September 2016
It is getting rare though having a sporty car at this price range with more than 4 cylinders so hope it does well to stop being doing what Porsche did with the Boxster and Cayman.

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Our Verdict

Audi TT RS 2009-2014

Audi RS TT

The Audi TT RS is a car of highs and lows. The engine is wonderful and the Quattro’s hallmarks are all there to see. It just lacks the finesse of the Cayman.

Find an Autocar car review

Driven this week