New Audi TT gets space frame chassis (UPDATED)
Newswheel staff :: 07 April 2006 :: Filed under Coupe, Hatchback, Audi, Audi TT, Europe & UK, US
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Not just a rebodied Golf…
Replacing an iconic car like the original TT is a tough task. And given Audi’s recent design diversions – that’ll be a big grille up front and an unsightly crease down the side – one we had suspected it might not manage. But have no fear, ladies and germs. The new TT, unveiled at multiple launch events across the globe yesterday, is definitely a looker. But even better, it’s not just yet another rebodied Golf. Thanks to an apparently all-new space frame chassis, it looks like Audi has made an honest sports car out of the new TT…
The new TT. Familiar looks? Yup, but there’s a technical revolution boiling away beneath (ride that rodent for a high res image)
In many ways, of course, the new car is rather predictable. For starters, the metalwork and glasshouse is pure TT Shooting Brake concept, as seen at the Tokyo show late last year, from the trailing edge of the passenger doors forward. It’s equally non-revelatory to find that the Shooting Brake’s clean and purposeful front bumper assembly has been defenestrated in favour of a rather fussier affair which also sees the concept’s funky new take on Audi’s mega-grille replaced with a more conventional item.
The remainder of the new TT’s overall design is a logical fusion of the original car’s cues with Audi’s current design philosophy. Taken from the first TT are the clamshell bonnet complete with petite wheel arch cut-aways, those exaggerated wheel arches themselves and the basic domed roof, sloping tailgate Bauhaus proportions. And from Audi’s new design manual comes the sharp shoulder crease running the full length of the car and the subtly concave surface treatment below – not forgetting the massive front grille, of course. Then simply stretch the whole shebag into a sleeker and more aggressive form, compared with the chunky first-gen TT, and this, folks, is the new 2006 TT.
Pop-up rear spoiler so well integrated it’s near-enough invisible (mount your mouse for a bigger picture)
For the record, the new car is 137mm longer at 4,178mm, as well as 78mm wider. And unlike the first TT, which sprouted an unsightly rear lip spoiler after a number of worrying high speed autobahn “incidents” prompted stability concerns, it looks like Audi has done its aero homework. The new car sports a near-invisible pop-up spoiler integrated into the rear hatch.
Launch engines are a pair of extremely familiar VW group lumps. The entry level 2.0-litre four-pot packs the same 200bhp direct-injection config as seen in the current Golf GTI, while the flagship model will hum to the tune of V-Dub’s tasty narrow-angle V6 in 3.2-litre, 250bhp trim. The headline performance numbers are 6.4 and 5.7 seconds for the dash to 62mph with top speeds of 150 and 155mph (limited), for the 2.0 and 3.2-litre models respectively.
(flick your finger for fulsome image fun)
Chassis-wise, the V6 model gets the full ‘quattro’ four-wheel drive treatment, while the four-banger makes do with front-wheel drive only. Suspension is fully independent (front-wheel drive variants of the outgoing TT made do with a torsion beam rear setup), with a sophisticated multi-link arrangement at the rear. A magnetic-particulate active damper system is also available, as an optional extra. Transmission alternatives, meanwhile, are the same for both models: A six-speed manual as standard and Audi’s awesome twin-clutch robot box, now known as S tronic, as an option.
However, the big surprise is the appearance of the letters ‘ASF’ (short for Audi Space Frame) on the spec list, something previously reserved for the all-alloy A8 and A2 models. While the new TT isn’t pure aluminium – the superstructure is 69 per cent aluminium, the remainder steel – this is clearly not just another rebodied Golf. The most obvious benefit of the space frame construction is weight saving. At 1,260kg, the new 2.0-litre model is 20kg lighter than the outgoing 1.8-litre car. If that’s just a little disappointing, the 90kg advantage the new 3.2-litre model has over the old 3.2 DSG (1,430kg plays 1,520kg) is none to shabby - particularly in this age of ever more stringent safety regulations. Delivering any new model to market which weighs the same or less than its predecessor is no mean feat.
(click for high res image)
All of which begs a single $64,000, Quattro-chassied question: Will the new TT improve on the original’s disappointing driving dynamics? Well, the brand new architecture, as well as Audi’s recent efforts with the RS4, certainly bode well. But are we alone in wondering whether Audi has missed an opportunity? The decision to use that fancy space frame was surely a chance to dump the TT’s nose-heavy front-drive layout in favour of something more genuinely sporting. Time will tell…
Prices and on-sale dates to follow…
Update:
Audi has now announced Euro prices for the new TT. The base model jumps up by just 500 euros, while the 3.2-litre model has lept by just 25 euros compared with the outgoing 3.2 DSG. Given the high-tech space frame underpinnings of the new model, that’s a pleasant suprise.
Linkage:
Official TT 2.0 spec sheet (Word doc)
Official TT 3.2 spec sheet (Word doc)
Posted 04 March 2007, by Gary
Thank you!
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