Press releases in detail

Oct 18, 2006

Aluminium and steel hybrid construction, magnetic ride and new fully automatic roof for second generation TT Roadster.

• Successor to acclaimed TT Roadster (international debut 1999, launched in the UK in 2000) expected to open for UK order in November 2006 – first deliveries in spring 2007

• Initially available with the 200PS 2.0-litre Turbo FSI petrol engine and front-wheel-drive or the 250PS 3.2-litre V6 with quattro permanent four-wheel-drive

• TT Roadster 2.0 T priced at £26,915 OTR and TT Roadster 3.2 quattro at £31,535 OTR

• 2.0 TFSI S tronic 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds, top speed 147mph, 36.2mpg, 3.2 quattro S tronic 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds, top speed limited to 155mph, 29.7mpg

• Advanced Audi Space Frame construction blending 58% aluminium and 42% steel (Coupe 69% / 31%) for outstanding weight distribution and low kerb weight of 1,295kg (2.0 TFSI)

• 100% improvement in static torsional rigidity

• New fully automatic ‘hands-free’ roof operation with improved sound insulation

• Optional magnetic ride system for optimum handling composure

• Retractable spoiler maintains downforce to maximise stability

Summer springs briefly to mind again this week as the second generation Audi TT Roadster breaks cover, concealing radical new advances in construction and suspension technology beneath a subtle but total rework of the classic TT lines. The successor to the still coveted original TT Roadster, launched in the UK in 2000, opens for order in late November with prices starting from £26,915 OTR, and will arrive with its first UK customers next spring.

Like its coupé counterpart, the new TT Roadster is especially notable for its advanced hybrid Audi Space Frame (ASF) body shell blending 58 per cent aluminium and 42 per cent steel to minimise weight, maximise dynamic potential and allow full exploitation of the two powerful petrol engines available at launch. Thanks to the highly sophisticated new shell the four-cylinder version weighs just 1,295kg unladen, and body rigidity has increased by a factor of 100 per cent.

To minimise impact on the weight savings made through the new construction technology, the new TT Roadster retains a cloth hood - electrohydraulically powered in both versions – which is both lighter than before through the use of a new steel and aluminium support framework, and even more insulating thanks to an additional layer of soundproofing.