One for the road - Audi TT
Above: Audi TT
There’s a recurring theme abroad that Audi don’t know how to make sports cars. It’s been going a while and the R8 supercar should finally have powered a few nails into its coffin. While these mutterings have doubtless capped sales of the RS models to the advantage of the crew from down the road in Munich, cars like the Audi TT Roadster, somewhat intriguingly, may have benefited. Sawing the top off a pure-bred sports car usually ruins it. Decapitating something a little less focused is, by contrast, decidedly excusable.
Let’s not gild the lily. The old TT was no great shakes as a sports coupe, the chassis being dumbed down after the scares that early owners had involving the car spinning off and punching a hole in the background. Where the TT did excel was in offering a car that looked great, felt very special and which aged beautifully.
Audi has made no secret of its intentions to hone the current TT into something that can bloody the nose of cars like the Porsche Cayman, the BMW Z4 Coupe and the Nissan 350Z and the hard-topped version gets within fingertip distance of matching these purebreds on a twisty road. As an ownership proposition, it’s arguably the best of the bunch. Therefore in theory, the Roadster version, with its lesser chassis rigidity, extra weight and added complexity, takes the TT’s edge and dulls it by several degrees. So what’s the point?
Vorsprung durch technik is as apt an answer as any. Compared to the old TT Roadster, the latest model’s chassis is 100 per cent more resistant to torsional deflection and a very low kerb weight of 1,295kg for the 2.0TFSI model compares very favourably to the coupe’s figure. Compare that weight to the 1,564kg of the Nissan 350Z Convertible and you’ll see why Audi aren’t too flustered about accusations that drop tops are usually a little on the lardy side.
The chassis of the TT Roadster isn’t enormously different in fundamental layout to something like a Volkswagen Golf but whereas the Golf uses steel for its suspension components, the TT uses expensive and lighter aluminium. What’s more, Audi have pioneered a method of using aluminium and steel components in tandem with each other, overcoming the electrolytic corrosion issues that have plagued other manufacturers who have tinkered with this approach. Some 69 per cent of the body is aluminium with the other 31 per cent steel, which means that the 2.0 litre turbo model is 60kg lighter than the old 1.8 litre six-speed car.
The hood is a traditional fabric affair, one of the key reasons why the weight penalty has been kept to a mere 35kg over the Coupe. Electrohydraulically operated, it uses a steel and aluminium framework to pare further grammes from its bulk. Were it not for an additional layer of soundproofing, it would be even lighter.
A clever Z-fold system means that the rigid forward section of the roof folds down on top of the remainder, eliminating the need for a tonneau – so often the inelegant engineering solution on convertible cars. What’s more, the roof operates in a mere 12 seconds and can be operated at speeds of up to 30mph. The TT Roadster requires no manual clipping or latching to the header rail either. Just fire and forget.
Like the coupe, the Roadster is offered with a pair of engines and drive layouts: 2.0-litre turbo front wheel drive or 3.2-litre V6 with quattro all-wheel drive. The 197bhp 2.0-litre turbo TT posts a sprint to 60mph in 6.7 seconds (6.5 with S-tronic twin-clutch sequential gearbox) before running on to a top speed of 149mph. The 3.2-litre car makes 60 in 6.0 seconds (5.8 with S-tronic) and hits an electronic limiter at 155mph. That’s a whole new plane of performance for the TT and also represents a more sensible product mix.
One of the reasons why the TT promises so much comes from its dampers. I appreciate that dampers may not seem the most eye-catching part of the TT’s specification sheet but they’re well worth a mention. Press a button on the gearlever and a voltage is applied to tiny magnetic particles swimming in the damper oil, changing their polarity and, in turn, either firming up or softening the damper in milliseconds.
The cabin of the TT also has high standards to live up to. Even today, the old TT’s cabin feels anything but old. Yes, all-round visibility is woeful but that fascia still feels smart and the much-copied aluminium finishes and buttress bars remain slick pieces of detailing.
The uninformed may well debate about whether Audi does indeed know how to make a sports car. The debate on whether they can make a desirable roadster, however, is firmly over.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi TT Roadster
PRICES: from £26,940 [2.0] / from £31,635 [3.2] – on the road.
INSURANCE GROUP: 17-18.
CO2 EMISSIONS: 184-248g/km.
PERFORMANCE: [3.2] 0-60mph 6s / Max Speed 155mph.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [3.2] combined) 29.7mpg.
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front & side airbags / ABS / stability control;
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