Portadown Audi Press releases in detail

16/5/2007

The TT in its purest form.

Every Audi TT is noted for its clear lines, unmistakable dynamism and sports car driving characteristics. Audi now presents the ultimate TT: the clubsport quattro concept.

The Audi TT clubsport quattro concept distills the TT Roadster to the status of pure driving equipment: a powerful engine, state-of-the-art technology and wholesale borrowings from the world of motorsport.

The goal the development engineers set themselves for this concept was driving purity at the highest level. No hood, no A-post – instead, a wraparound windscreen kept extremely low, to deliberately evoke the image of a speedster. A flat, slightly tinted window strip surrounds the cockpit. The panoramic windscreen (and the two humps located behind the interior, in place of the hood compartment) are reminiscent of a racing car. The rollover bars, familiar from the TT Roadster, are kept flatter and are the same height as the sports bucket seats.

The front end is dominated by the single-frame grille, with aluminium inserts to give its design a horizontal emphasis. This makes the TT clubsport quattro look even closer to the road than it already is. The four rings of the logo aren’t located in the grille, as on most Audi models, but on the bonnet. The large air inlets in the front end supply additional oxygen to the more potent TFSI engine. The visible, stainless steel rear silencer is the rear bumper’s most striking feature, whilst the blade under the rear silencer visibly underscores the vehicle’s racing profile. The dual-branch exhaust system, with its oval tailpipes, is an echo of the most sporty Audi production models, such as the RS 4.

There’s a deliberate lack of visual interruption to the side line, and you’ll look in vain for door handles. The TT clubsport quattro is opened by remote control: the doors spring open at the press of a button. The size of the two exterior mirrors has also been minimised. 20-inch wheels, with tyres of size 265/30 R20 make the car look even more muscular, as do the enlarged wheel arches and the car’s track width, which is 80 millimetres wider than a production TT.

The car is painted Daytona Grey, a colour Audi used for the first time on the RS 4 and the S8. The exterior design features contrasting dark shades of grey, with the grille and side grille in steely Gun Metal. The orange brake callipers link the exterior design to the interior and provide a visual contrast. These bright colour highlights also provide attractive visual touches in the interior, on elements such as the instrument cowl, the armrest and on the back of the bucket seats. The black leather seat itself also boasts a special feature, in the shape of a specially designed laser version of the TT logo, worked into the seat.

The driving purity theme is continued inside the car, where racing bucket seats are provided for both occupants. Thanks to three inch wide, four-point belts, both driver and passenger are given excellent support, even in extreme driving situations – on the racetrack, for example.

The generous use of aluminium is characteristic of Audi. This starts with the lightweight, twin spoke steering wheel. The grooved pedals are also made of aluminium, giving the driver a better grip, as well as saving weight. Foot rests are provided for both driver and passenger.

The gear lever gate, adopted from the new Audi A8 mid-engined sports car, and the aluminium gear knob, are a joy to behold. This lightweight metal is also used for the door pull and the door opener, both of which are cut-out, a feature which adds further to the interior’s racing ambience.

The new sill area emphasises the width of the car, rather than being interrupted by a sill strip. You’ll find a new door sill trim further inside the car, along with floor mats sporting the TT logo. An aluminium inlay is another visual highlight. More aluminium is used to create the surrounding strip on the top shoulder.

For the in-car entertainment, Audi’s designers came up with something special. In the middle of the three round air vents in the upper part of the dashboard, you’ll find a new interface. Designed for (among other things) the round B&O MP3 player BeoSound 2, this new sound system from Audi’s premium partner fits exactly into the circular opening and is a sheer delight for eye and ear alike. In keeping with the car’s purist racing approach, you won’t find a clock or an odometer.

Now, the engine. Naturally, it’s all about power.

The Audi engineers have packed even more muscle into the 2.0 TFSI engine than the 260 bhp familiar from the Audi S3. The turbocharged four-cylinder unit with petrol direct injection (which was itself “Engine of the Year” in its class in 2005 and 2006) breaks the magic 300 bhp barrier, thanks to a modified intake manifold. Power is transferred to all four wheels, making the TT clubsport quattro the first new-generation TT with four-cylinder engine and quattro permanent four-wheel drive.

The transmission is also new to this performance category. Thanks to its dual clutch, the S tronic direct-shift gearbox changes gear with a practically imperceptible interruption to the flow of power. The six gears can also be changed manually, with gearshifts taking just fractions of a second.

Open the bonnet and you’ll be met by a fascinating sight. Thanks to a lack of cables and auxiliaries, the engine compartment looks extremely clean. The engine hasn’t been hidden under a cover and the cross brace running above the engine is a technical stroke of genius: it not only makes the car more rigid, but also contains the coolant expansion tank. The ABS system has been moved from the engine compartment, as have the air conditioning and activated charcoal filter. A racing air filter gives the engine the required quantity of oxygen. The exhaust system has also been adapted: this machine sounds like a racing car as well as moving like one.

For the first time, the TT has been fitted with absolutely non-fading ceramic brakes, letting the driver make countless sharp braking manoeuvres without any loss of stopping power. Once again, Audi has dipped into its wealth of experience: ceramic brakes are already offered for the RS 4, the A8 and S8, for example, and are becoming increasingly popular with customers.

The Audi TT clubsport quattro is a driving purist’s machine that’s still a TT, but shows just what can be done if you know how. A small-series production of this model is now being considered.