Audi TTS Coupe (2008) CAR review

The new Audi TTS is the fastest and sportiest version of the iconic TT. Finally, the TT gets the performance to complement the style. Power comes from a hotter version of the TT’s existing 2.0-litre turbo engine and the price jumps to £33,390 for the coupe and £35,390 for the roadster. It’s the first TT to play in Porsche territory.

The TT has always been a bit of a hairdressers’ car – more high-pose than high-performance. Does Audi finally have a cut-price Porsche beater?

Well it’ll certainly beat a Cayman or most Boxsters in the 0-60 dash. What’s more, it feels light, eager and willing to rev. The 2.0-litre turbo FSI engine, already familiar to TT buyers, gets a bigger turbocharger, an uprated air cooler, a better flowing exhaust and a host of internal upgrades: power is boosted from 197bhp to 270bhp and torque jumps 25 percent.

The engine revs sweetly, growls pleasingly as it homes in on its 6800rpm redline, and it’s silky smooth to boot. The standard six-speed manual is quick shifting and short-of-throw, and so light that gear-changing is a simple matter of flicking the wrists. This lightness of control also extends to the clutch and steering: it’s an easy car to drive hard.

The direct fuel injection engine is also light, and combined with the part aluminium construction of the latest TT, it makes for a featherweight sportster (at least compared with some beefy rivals). It’s an agile car, the handling security helped by the Quattro all-wheel drive system (which can vary 100 percent of the torque from front-to-rear and vice versa as conditions dictate). Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are good for a 155mph car too.

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