The small ones

TT


Models Racing Special
New start Small Medium: B Large: C Extra large: D Concept_cars
50   A3   TT   A2


(1)

In 1995 a concept car of a small sportscar was presented. Indeed, the TT which name reminds of the legendary Tourist Trophy and the NSU TT alike, saw production from 1998 on. In 1999 for the model year 2000 the TT Roadster followed. By its relatively small price and progressiv styling, the TT became a huge success immediately.


(1)

The TT has became center of attention not only by its looks but also by its problems concerning driving stability in certain situations. As I have not driven the car, I will not say much to that. However, every company must be aware that any product it offers to the market has to be idiot-proof. I mean, in times like now, where you have to tell people that coffee is hot and objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they appear, what do you expect? And that the TT is capable of reaching borderlines to which some TT drivers had no admittance to with their old cars, could be possible, too. This shell be no glorifying, I just want to put it in second context.
Obviously, the TT reacts unpredictable in extreme situations. The discussion about the lift on the rear axle seems to be exaggerated. However that lift in combination with the weight distribution and other chassis-effects are the reason for the problems.


(1)

Audi offered its customers a retrofit of the ESP, together with other dampers, stabiizers (swaybars) and the rear spoier in already sold cars. New cars had this stock for some time already.. This retrofit is pretty spectacular as the ESP involves many sensors that had to be retrofitted, too. Audi built a special disassemble- retrofit- assemble line. With it it was possible to execute the retrofit fast and without too much lost for Audi. All retrofitted TTs had to pass the same tests as brand new cars before they were returned to the customer. Remember, some of these cars had quite some mileage done until then!


(1)

Even if the TT Roadster looks good with closed top, its state-to-be is open!
One of the things that created a lot of attention on the concept car was the interieur with the stylishly and tastefully applied aluminium. Nice to see that this was carried over! If you want, you can even have the beautiful and very expensive leather seats with the design of a Baseball glove.


(1)

A nice back can be pleasing, too!
Roadster closed, Coupé and open Roadster are presenting their behinds here. Good to see the rear spoiler that was retrofitted, respectively added to the stock items in the callback. On explizit order of the customer, it was not installed during the callback. But I think it does not spoil the TT's lines too much.
Furthermore, you can see the difference between the 180PS and 225PS 1.8T: The small Turbo has only one exhaust tip, the large one two. But do not rely to much on this: Many tuners offer double tip exhaust systems for the small and the large one.
The big turbo is available as quattro only, it is optional on the small one. The TT uses the same platform as Golf IV and A3. So it has a Haldex clutch, too, as briefly described on the page about the A3.


(2)
Since September 2000 Audi offers the Roadster with a hardtop, too. Either straight from the factory with a new car or as a part that can be bought at the dealer later. This hardtop is one of the best looking available on the market. It flows nicely with the design of the TT and lets it look very much ike the Coupé concept car!
More about the Audi TT can be found here:  
tt-owners-club.de
audi-tt.org
Audi TT Owner's Club


Models Racing Special
New start Small Medium: B Large: C Extra large: D Concept_cars
50   A3   TT   A2

(1) My picture
(2) official Audi photo

Copyright 1998-2001 Jens
This site was created with WordPad and Phase5.