The Audi TT made waves due to its unique styling when it debuted, but it was never known for shocking performance. With the second-generation car, the Audi TT has grown up a lot from the original, benign Volkswagen Golf/New Beetle based car.
Yes it has remained front-wheel drive and on an updated version of the same platform, but the TT has seen added investment that moved it upmarket quite a bit. The TT has pushed the performance envelope much more than ever before.
Witness the $56,850 TT-RS that fans were clamoring to be brought over to the United States. Indeed, the entire Audi brand has increasingly put more of an emphasis on performance, and we’re glad to see it.
Auto Express reports that the next chapter of the TT story could be beginning soon, with a third-generation model shown at the Tokyo Auto Show. We’ve already seen Audi’s wares at the show in the form of the A1 Sportback, but this is the first we’ve heard of a new TT.
Rather than a production car, we think its more likely that Audi will show a preview concept of the next TT. Auto Express didn’t specify which it was, but they did shed some light on the next-generation car.
They say the TT will continue its move upmarket, to make room for the oft-rumored small mid-engined roadster (R4). That means ditching the car’s Golf underpinnings for a new platform that “is expected to feature an advanced mixed of steel and aluminum.” The reorganized pecking order would go something like this: R8, TT and R4 (or whatever it will be called).
AE has commissioned a rendering of the rear of the car, and we like what we see – a lot. It be a big surprise if Audi revealed the production version out of the blue – we’ll find out soon enough what’s up (if anything) when the Tokyo Motor Show begins November 30th.
