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Michael Taylor6 Feb 2019
NEWS

Audi TT RS upgraded

No more urge but slightly sleeker looks for thumping sports coupe

You’ll have to take the binoculars out to notice it from more than five metres away, but the heavy hitter of the Audi TT Coupe and Convertible range has been facelifted.

The 2019 Audi TT RS, powered by its simultaneously brutal and sweet inline five-cylinder turbo motor, has piggybacked the standard TT range with an upgraded and more muscular front-end look.

The normal spot you’d expect to be the focus of a sports car hasn’t been touched much, though, with the updated TT RS set to retain the current car’s 294kW of power and 480Nm of torque from its 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder engine.

“The new TT RS is in absolute peak form,” Audi Sport CEO Michael-Julius Renz extolled.

And yet there was the chance for more, because insiders insist the TT RS’s power output has been limited to ensure it doesn’t threaten the R8 flagship.

audi tt rs 1519

The upgraded 2+2 sportster will whip through to 100km/h in a claimed 3.7 seconds, with fully variable all-wheel drive biting at the bitumen, and its top speed can either be limited to 250km/h or stretched up to 280km/h.

The torque distribution of the car’s all-wheel drive system can be fiddled with by the driver, while it also has wheel-selective torque control.

“Like a well-trained athlete, it showcases even more prominently how much power lies beneath its muscular outer skin,” Audi Sport Technical Managing Director Oliver Hoffmann suggested, somewhat overenthusiastically.

“The outstanding performance is achieved by the low weight, the maximal athletic tuned suspension, and our award-winning five-cylinder.

“We have received the sought-after International Engine of the Year Award with the 2.5 TFSI engine for the ninth time in a row.”

audi tt rs 1476

Not only does the howling five-pot retain its power and torque outputs, but also its fuel consumption of 8.1L/100km and its CO2 emissions of 181g/km.

Design upgrades are limited to what the 2019 Audi TT appeared with in December, including a redrawn front-end and a crisper looking rear-end.

The quattro logo has switched to titanium-look matte and drops to the lower levels of the grille, with extra radiators sited behind the honeycomb of the lower grille.

It retains its standard LED headlights, with Matrix LED units as an option, as well as Matrix OLED reversing lights at the rear.

audi tt rs 1528

There’s a fixed wing on the rear-end, with side winglets for visual -- as much as aerodynamic -- impact, while a pair of oval exhaust outlets flank the redesigned rear bumper.

There are also three new colours alongside the five carry-over colours -- Kyalami green, Pulse orange and Turbo blue -- while both the Coupe and the Convertible should arrive at the same time.

The key issue with the current Audi TT RS is that it rides too firmly, too often, in spite of its magnetic damping setup, with the 1450kg coupe and its 19-inch wheels feeling far t0o hard and its 20-inch options feeling even worse. There is no word from Audi Sport as to whether or not this issue has been addressed.

The 2019 Audi TT RS shares the updated TT’s interior upgrades, but adds some of its own Audi Sport-specific displays in the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

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Written byMichael Taylor
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