All Audi TT reviews

"So many cars wear a Sport badge just to titillate the marketing department. This isn't one of them"

It's difficult to finger quite when the Audi TT fell off the front page. Back in the late nineties, it was the car to be seen in. No press car I've ever had possessed quite the same capacity to reduce bystanders to slack jawed stupefaction as the first TT to hit these shores. As time has gone by, the TT's position as the premier coupe pick has gradually been eroded by newer, more powerful rivals. In a bid to show that the TT has the substance to back up the style statement, Audi have launched the TT Coupe Quattro Sport.

For a long while there were just 180 and 225bhp versions of the TT coupe, leaving many of us yearning for something a little more focused. The all-wheel drive chassis felt capable of handling a good deal more power and aftermarket tuners exploited the potential of the turbocharged 1.8-litre engine, offering packages that took power out towards 300bhp. Audi were a little more conservative in their aspirations. The 3.2-litre V6 TT that subsequently arrived was less the tarmac shredder and more an elegant junior GT. Given that it developed just 22bhp over the 1.8-litre car and had a hefty engine in its nose, it wasn't the agile back roads weapon many had hoped for. For that customers have had to be very patient indeed. The TT Coupe Quattro Sport is just that car. Power has risen modestly to 240bhp, but torque is a good deal beefier, rising from 280Nm to 320Nm from as low as 2,300rpm. The result is that this is a TT with an engine that develops power like a V6 but with the weight of a four-cylinder unit. This results in the ability to hit 60mph in 5.7 seconds and run on to 155mph. That, however, is by no means the extent of the changes wrought to this rather special car.

The braking system from the TT 3.2 has been grafted onto the Quattro Sport with far more feel and modulation in the braking system, deflecting the usual criticism of 'typical' Audi undercooled and overservoed brakes. The suspension system has been fettled for a more sporting ride and the car runs on 18-inch alloy wheels with an increased rear rim width to help maximise grip. The fifteen-spoke alloys are perhaps a little too elegant for such a hardcore car but they fill the blistered wheelarches very convincingly. Out go the rather pathetic rear seats, and also ditched is the spare tyre, replaced by a can of tyre sealant foam. The rear parcel shelf has also been junked in favour of a cross member that helps torsional rigidity. As a result, the kerb weight has been cut by 49kg to 1,416kg. This TT combines a Phantom Black roof, pillars and mirror housings with contrasting Mauritius Blue, Misano Red or Avus Silver. Or, if you choose Phantom Black bodywork, it doesn't. Wearing the same aero pack as the TT 3.2 V6 models, the Quattro Sport has some genuine overtaking presence. Inside the interior is trimmed with Recaro bucket seats upholstered in leather and Alcantara. The steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake gaiter are also finished in this hardwearing but tactile material. The effect on the car is astonishing. Gone is the suspicion that the TT is a coupe that's past its sell by date, the Quattro Sport now making a very realistic alternative to customers who like the performance potential of Japanese evo cars but who can't countenance the low rent cabins. In this regard at least, the TT is still in a different league. The glorious deep bucket seats and the fascia, which still looks stunning a full six years after launch, will be enough to sell the car to many before they even turn a wheel. The £29,360 asking price is perhaps a little more than typical Impreza STi/Lancer Evo pricing but the perceived quality gains make the premium appear reasonable. Climb in and it feels claustrophobic, particularly with all those dark colours. Looking out of the windscreen and particularly out of the side windows makes you feel like you're peering out of a machine gun turret, so narrow is the field of vision. This is a real cockpit ' something that feels far more special than any similarly priced rival offering. There are brushed aluminium fittings wherever you look; covering the stereo, trimming the air vents, on the struts around the centre console, around the steering wheel boss and the gear stick. It's retro and futuristic, avant-garde and traditional, all at the same time. Equipment includes lowered sports suspension, xenon headlamps with titanium surrounds, remote central locking, a driver information system and electric windows and mirrors. The styling kit features a modified rear spoiler and apron, bigger cooling inlets in the front spoiler and titanium-coloured headlight trims. Fortunately, the TT isn't one of those sports cars that needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck all the time. A class-leading drag coefficient of 0.34 means it's quiet and the ditching of the rear seats means that there's over 500 litres of available luggage space to play with. Although the Quattro Sport may well be a little too focused to cut it as a genuine touring car, it nevertheless presents a mouth-watering proposition to those who want a stylish coupe that can handle the occasional track day without throwing a hissy fit. Virtually a decade after the TT first made its show debut at Frankfurt, Audi have unleashed a car that's as relevant today as it was back then. The rules have changed, the times have moved on, but the TT can still show upstart rivals a thing or two.