First Drive Review
Audi's goal is to become the sportiest brand in the premium segment. Sportier than Mercedes. Sportier than Jaguar. Get this: even sportier than BMW.
Impossible, you say?
Au contraire. Just look at the two sports-sedan comparison tests in this issue ("Deep-Pocket Rockets," and "Compact Adrenaline-Delivery Systems"), in which both the RS 6 and the S4 hammered the competition. Audi whipped them all: the supercharged duo from Mercedes-the E55 AMG and the C32 AMG-and the benchmarks from BMW, the M5 and the M3. Not since Le Mans have we seen such Audi dominance.
It's disconcerting, then, that Audi's raciest model, the TT, is currently missing that dominant gene. Despite winning back-to-back 10Best trophies in 2000 and 2001, the TT's winning streak is seemingly over. It's fallen off the 10Best pedestal, and in its last comparo ("Hot Tin Roofs," December 2002), it got its fashionable butt kicked, finishing last behind the Honda S2000, the Ford Mustang Mach 1, and the Nissan 350Z. As the slowest and most expensive car in the group, the TT was like a piggy bank racing slot cars.
Come this fall, though, Audi will give the TT lineup a shot of testosterone in the form of the 3.2 Quattro, the first TT to be powered by a six-cylinder engine. Based on the 2.8-liter VR6 found in the VW GTI and Jetta, this new 3.2-liter V-6 is so thoroughly reworked that Audi claims it represents a new generation of the 15-degree, narrow-angle engine. Modifications include an increased bore and stroke, a redesigned intake system, a new cylinder head, higher-flow inlet and exhaust ports, and an 11.3:1 compression ratio. The result is 247 naturally aspirated horses at 6300 rpm and 236 pound-feet of torque from 2800 to 3200 rpm.
On the highways and curvy roads around Nice, France, the new V-6 backed up those numbers, justifying Audi's decision to-as was the case with the S4-cram as much motor under the hood as possible. Compared with the current TT's 225-hp, 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder, the V-6 delivers its power more progressively and linearly, avoiding the dreaded turbo lag. Moreover, along with better throttle response, the V-6 enables a car that is easier and more enjoyable to drive fast.
And fast it is. Teamed with the new Direct-Shift Gearbox (see below), the '04 TT feels quicker than its forebears. We have yet to animal it around a test track, although Audi claims a 0-to-62-mph time of 6.4 seconds, which feels a tad conservative even considering the TT's rather portly curb weight of 3350 pounds. We project the 0-to-60 time to hover right around six seconds, especially since a 3438-pound, 225-hp TT roadster we tested (August 2000) reached 60 in 6.2 seconds. Top speed for the 3.2 Quattro is governed at 155 mph.
