Audi will treble the number of coupés it sells in the next three years – led by this stunning new TT. It will be joined by a new range of larger two-doors, as part of on-going efforts by the German car maker to project a sportier image.
The coupé expansion, masterminded by Audi chairman Martin Winterkorn, kicks off next year with the second-generation TT – a car described to Autocar as ‘encapsulating all the style and quality of the original, but with the dynamics and space to head its class’.
Joining it in Audi showrooms before long will be production versions of Audi’s well-received Nuvolari and Le Mans concept cars – both of which have now been granted internal codenames, indicating that a business case has been approved and development is underway.
Audi TT: Codename AU353Audi’s new TT will be unveiled at the September 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, with UK coupé sales scheduled for April 2006 – the replacement roadster is due around a year later.
As Autocar’s artist’s impressions (above) show, the new model’s appearance remains faithful to the classic Freeman Thomas-penned lines of today’s car, with only mild changes to the detailing and slightly increased dimensions for extra interior room.
‘The TT is a style icon,’ an Ingolstadt source close to Audi design boss Walter de’Silva told Autocar. ‘It is still influencing the design of cars six years after its launch. We don’t see any need to bring radical changes to the car. Future incarnations will retain all the essential ingredients of today’s model.’
Distinguishing the new TT from today’s car will be a fresh front end dominated by Audi’s new shield grille. The rear is likely to receive a retractable spoiler, similar to that used on the Porsche Boxster, to provide added downforce.
The old TT was based around many of the mechanicals of the previous VW Golf, and so the second-generation model borrows the Volkswagen Group’s PQ35 platform – the same structure that’s used by the latest VW Golf, Audi A3, Seat Altea and Skoda Octavia.
An earlier plan was to use a modified Audi A4 platform, according to an Ingolstadt engineer who points to the 3-series-derived BMW Z4 and C-class-based Mercedes SLK as inspiration. However, the idea was scrapped on packaging grounds: the A4’s longitudinal engine layout and Torsen four-wheel-drive system is unsuited to the TT’s compact dimensions and unusual proportions.
As a result, the next TT will benefit from a series of chassis upgrades that should make it a much sharper drive. Chief among them is the switch from torsion beam rear suspension to a more contemporary multi-link arrangement – a luxury previously only afforded on four-wheel-drive versions of the TT. Other changes include a slightly longer wheelbase and wider tracks, an electro-mechanical steering set-up and bigger brakes.
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