Wednesday 12th October 2005

New Audi TT uncovered

Tokyo to see icon update next week

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Audi is set to reveal the new TT at the Tokyo Motor Show next week. Gone is the rounded, bubble-like shape, in has come the new Audi corporate grille and a swathe of sharp lines, in a version of the car Audi is calling the Shooting Brake Concept.

Due out in 2006, the new three-door car has a touch of the BMW M Coupé about it, especially from the rear. It's different -- and forced to be so by the hugely competitive performance coupé market. It will join the coupé and roadster variants.

Meanwhile, the existence of performance figures suggests that the car is nearly cooked: 0-62mph in six seconds and a top speed of 155mph come from the 250bhp 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine with its close ratio six-speed manual gearbox.

It sits on 19-inch wheels with 245/40 R19 tyres, and the car is suspended by a front McPherson strut and four-link rear set-up bolstered by Audi's new Magnetic Ride adaptive damping system. This replaces conventional damper fluid with a special magneto-rheological fluid whose viscosity can be influenced by an electromagnetic field. This effect enables the damping characteristics to be influenced electronically by the application of a voltage to the electromagnets. The result, according to Audi is to help keep the body flat and composed under duress by setting the correct damping forces for every driving situation.

Inside, Audi touts the high-technology materials and capabilities. The focal point is a new version of the Multi Media Interface operating system (MMI) featuring 3D navigation from a new touch screen monitor onto which destinations can be written with a fingertip, which are translated into machine-speak by character recognition software. Destinations and details can also be input via a PDA-style remote control handset.

[TT Tim]

Oh dear.

Not a lot more to say is there?

I'm not a fan of the TT but that is not pretty, the rear 3/4 view has a BMW 1 series look, and that can't be a good thing. :D

Tim

[Liszt]

Looks more like a S3 than a TT to me.

Not on my shopping list.

[apache]

ah, um..............can't be bothered

[GTRene]

also look a bit BMW 1 serie on the behind/side picture, but I have to say it, I'm not a fan of the "older" TT but I like this one! it looks like a bully beast a bit...so with a big V8 and 4wd it can be a blast...

[JapsEyeDesign]

Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke.

They cannot be replacing one of the most iconic vehicles in history with that turd.

Who designed it? Who sanctioned it?

[milfordkong]

Eh??

I'm no TT fan. but I remember how fresh and original it looked on it's debut. There was nothing else like it, and it's still a decent looking car (but common as very, very common muck)

This however looks like a concept for the next A3, what's going on??

Seems to be a trend at the moment, the Alfa Brera for example, whilst stunningly gorgeous it certainly is less coupe and more hatchback (when compared to the GTV it's succeeding)

[L100NYY]

Renault Megane anyone!



I like it but it ain't no coupe!

[combover]

I rather like it. I think it is bold but not outlandish or vulgar. I would consider buying one.

[corcoran]

oh. my. god.

[MarkoTVR]

Thank God they're finally making something new, rather than just painting the roof a different colour on the old one and hoping people will care about it again.

Like - the front, the rear lights, rear diffuser and the interior
Not too sure - the roofline (looks like it's been added after)
Don't like - the rear from the windowline upwards, looks like a BMW 1 Series, as said above.

>> Edited by MarkoTVR on Wednesday 12th October 12:03

[Plotloss]

Lambo have had a hand in that I reckon.

Look at the front, all family and Le Mans and lovely.

Back? Chop it off there, lets go home for the weekend, Gunther.

[hayesey]

although I'm not a fan of the original, at least it was groudbreaking from a design point of view.

This new one just looks too much like all the rest in it's class.

[wedgie]

What can one say, except... shite. Total shite. The only good thing about that car was the styling, now it doesn't even have that. Buffoons!

[alanc5]

It just comes across as being completely dull. It has no identity, nothing thats sets it apart.

At least with the current shape everybody can recognise it as an Audi TT. This...it's just another boring silver car.

Completely. Utterly. Boring.

[shadowninja]

It's an improvement!

[andy_s]

Looks like it has heaps of character, credibility, new design points and generaly very very interesting. Ooops, sorry, looking at wrong picture........

Admittedly individual models are aimed at a particular market and cannot be all things to all people (hence diversity and arguement!) but for Audi to give up the TT slot culturally to something that we see hundreds of the like of everyday is a disappointment, the TT slot could have been filled by something far more interesting.

I bet there are a lot of car designers in Audi-land snapping pencils and kicking waste paper baskets muttering 'feckin' accountants' under their breath.....

My buddy has a Morris Minor convertable in sky blue which I'd happily drive instead of this MacTT.

[SJobson]

Surely the real thing will be a coupe with a similar roofline to the old one. This is just a concept.

The lower body side looks OK, front and rear are pretty poor and fussy and the (probably not for production) roofline is completely unintegrated.

[Sonic Nonsense]

What's going on? Why take a hugely popular, amazingly well selling car, and slap the badge on something completely differnt. OK, it's an ok looking car, but it's got to be a totally differnt market to the TT. The TT was more of a hard-top roadster, this new thing's a small saloon!


www.sonicnonsense.com

[Beefmeister]

If you read the story, it says that this 'shooting brake' version will join the standard coupe and roadster variants.

So i'd imagine the front end will be simliar, but the rear will stick to the current coupe profile...

[nickwilcock]

Utterly hideous!

Particularly that awful front.

When will Audi realise that their so-called 'corporate grille' is brash, loud and vulgar. Their cars once had a discrete elegace; now they have a "Oi'm richer than yow" image for people who can't quite afford a Mercedes.