Even though we got a head start when we saw the new TTS via a set of leaked low-res photos, these were showing us the least interesting bit of the car: the exterior. Now, with the official information on both it and the regular TT released with the Geneva unveiling of the car, we’ll have to see if its technical side will be impressive enough to put it at the top of enthusiasts sports car bucket lists.

The body is (up to) 90 kg (~200 lbs) lighter than its predecessor, and this enables the 2.0 TDI model, with 184 PS (180 hp) to complete the benchmark sprint in 7.2 seconds and go on to a top speed of 235 km/h (146 mph).

Obviously, diesels will make up a very small part percentage of new TTs, but with good performance numbers and a claimed average fuel consumption figure of 4.2 l/100 km or (56 mpg US / 67 mpg UK) it might change a few minds; it’s the same engine you get in a Golf GTD.

The oil burner will make up the bottom of the range at launch, in Europe, or if you want to burn gasoline instead, two TFSI units of different potencies but identical (2.0-liter) displacement are on offer. The first pulls the car to 100 km/h (60 mph) in 6 seconds (or 5.3 with optional Quattro and six-speed S-Tronic) and on to a limited 250 km/h (155 mph). It makes 230 PS (227 hp) and 370 NM (273 lb-ft, spread widely, between 1,600 – 4,300 rpm.

The second petrol engine it will be offered with also attracts a name change to TTS and gets more power than we previously reported, so it actually makes 310 PS, not 300 (306 hp), along with a torque figure that’s only 10 Nm up on that of the TT – 380 NM (280 lb-ft) which comes in 100 rpm later but remains at 100 percent up until 5,700 rpm, so you’ll definitely feel it on the move. It sprints to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and shares the same limited top speed as the non-S TT.

Audi was very careful to help this new TT blend into the crowd and be mistaken for the old model, or at best a very thorough facelift, and thus they’ve kept the overall size pretty much identical, though they have improved its overall look (a bit) by extending the wheelbase 37 mm (1.46 in), in the quest for shorter overhangs.

The most prominent exterior features are the light clusters, which at the front come as standard Xenons, with the option to move up to LED Matrix, like on the revised A8; the rears come with standard LEDs.

As we mentioned quite a few times before, the TT’s interior is its standout feature. It’s definitely an Audi and it exhibits their specific style, though now it’s much less cluttered than before and features a fresh new design. I may even go so far as to say it looks like the interior of a modern well though-out Italian sports car, or a vision of how such an interior should look…

The most prominent feature inside is the new digital cluster. It packs a new slender screen that also features the functions one would normally be used to finding on the classic Audi MMI screen that usually popped out of the top of the dash. This adds to the “less is more” philosophy that also bodes well with the climate control displays that are now located in the center of the circular center vents. All other visible buttons are concentrated on a strip right below and blend in nicely.

By Andrei Nedelea

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