Audi TT RS Coupe (2009) CAR review

Audi doesn’t make many RS-badged cars. Since 1992 it has only applied them to five high-performance, low-volume models: the original RS2 estate, and two versions each of the RS4 and RS6. Each had a monstrous engine shoe-horned into a saloon or estate body, and made BMW’s M-cars and Mercedes-Benz’s AMGs look pretty common by comparison.

So any new RS model deserves your attention. This new TT RS marks the first time the badge has been applied to a sports car; you can have it as either a coupe or a roadster. And when Audi bills this car as an homage to the iconic fast Audi – the original, 1980 Quattro – your expectations are nudged a little higher still.

The Audi TT RS will need more than 200bhp this time…

Audi doesn’t currently make a five-pot as used in the original ur-Quattro so the RS gets a virtually bespoke 2.5-litre five that shares only the design of its block with a US-market Volkswagen engine. In the TT RS it makes a massive 335bhp between 5400 and 6500rpm and 332lb ft of torque between 1600 and 5300rpm. But its combination of direct injection and turbocharging is also good for efficiency: Audi claims average fuel consumption of 30.7mpg, and carbon dioxide emissions of just 214g/km for the coupe.

To handle the torque Audi had to borrow the six-speed ‘box from the Volkswagen Transporter van. And they’ve deliberately left off the black plastic cover that hides most modern engines. Instead, when you open the bonnet you get an eyeful of red cam cover studded with five HT leads: very '80s.

Any other tweaks?

The brakes grow to 370mm at the front and 310mm at the back, the speed-sensitive steering has been recalibrated and the car rides 10mm lower than standard on firmer springs, with Audi’s swtichable magnetic ride as an option. And the four-wheel drive system sends power to the rear wheels slightly earlier.

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