Audi Ireland hosted a flamboyant event in Dublin’s RDS last Thursday to unveil its all-new Audi TT, ahead of its official arrival in the fourth quarter of 2014. Attendees to this colourful event were among the first in Europe to see the new TT in the flesh. The led-lead extravagant reveal could have easily rivalled a European launch, Audi is obviously keen to impress its new model to a select few VIP customers.
The original Audi TT was first unveiled as a concept in 1995 prior to going into production in 1998. Christian Gussen, Managing Director Audi Ireland commented, “The first generation TT helped change the image of Audi to a sportier brand.” There is elements of the first generation model in this all-new third generation TT, these include the aluminium fuel cap and wheel arches. Elsewhere the car has been redesigned, the familiar Audi rings have been moved from the front grille onto the bonnet, resembling the R8, the 3D front grille is the new family face of Audi and will be introduced on new forthcoming models.
Irish motorists can choose from three engines at launch to power their TT, two petrol engines and one diesel engine. The powerful TTS delivers 310hp from its 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine, it’s mated with a six-speed manual transmission, with a six-speed S-Tronic transmission available optionally. It’s 50 kilograms lighter than its predecessor with a lower centre of gravity and driving position, the car’s wheelbase has been extended by 40mm over its predecessor. The quattro all-wheel-drive system is rear wheel biased, up to 100 per cent of the engine’s torque can be sent to the rear wheels. The volume seller in Ireland will undoubtedly be the 2.0-litre TDI variant. This turbocharged diesel engine produces a satisfactory 184hp and 380Nm of torque, with a front-wheel drive setup. Audi claims it will return a combined fuel consumption of 4.2L/100km (67.3 mpg) with CO2 emissions of 110g/km, it’s seated in tax band A3 with an annual road tax fee of €190.
The highlight of Audi’s new TT is the ‘virtual cockpit’, a multi-media interactive (MMI) 12.3” colour screen that sits behind the steering wheel. It’s powered by two quad-core processors, one is used for displaying the digital rev counter and speedometer, the second processor powers the infotainment capabilities, these include satellite navigation and media playback. It’s supported by 4G data connectivity enabling a wifi hotspot.
Audi’s all-new TT is crammed full of technology, some of which I’m sure we will see filter through new models over the coming months. Christian Gussen further summed up this new TT as “being very important for their image and brand”. We look forward to getting behind the wheel of Audi’s all-new TT, to see if this hi-tech sports coupé can deliver on its flamboyant reveal.
