2018 Audi TT RS Coupe

With the RS, the TT's performance is now on par with its design.

When Audi’s TT first came out, in 1999, it was a beautifully designed alternative to the Volkswagen GTI with which it shared much of its mechanicals. If you liked the idea of driving a GTI but couldn’t stand that it looked like the most common three-box car in world history, the TT provided a solution with its Bauhaus-like design. Audi has continually improved the TT since, achieving performance enhancements over the GTI that are nearly as great as its visual advantages.

As evidence, behold this latest TT RS, the reworked top-of-the-line model, based on the third-generation TT introduced in 2014. Distinguished by its aggressive front fascia and powered by a thoroughly revamped version of the 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine, the new model promises to scoot from zero to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds—a heady figure indeed for a car often dismissed as all style and no substance.

Five Alive
The major mechanical change from the last-gen TT RS is a reworked engine, with an aluminum block, a lighter crankshaft, an aluminum oil pump, a magnesium upper sump, and a number of other measures that slice some 57 pounds from the engine’s weight. That’s particularly significant because the engine is entirely forward of the front-wheel centerline.

The engine also gets a revised cylinder head, Audi’s variable-valve-lift-and-duration system on the exhaust camshaft (it switches between cam lobes like Honda’s VTEC system, although with a different mechanism), the addition of port fuel injection to the existing direct-injection setup, and boost pressure bumped from 18.1 to 19.6 psi. Those changes increase output from 360 to 400 horsepower and torque from 343 to 354 lb-ft. Fuel economy is said to improve slightly, although EPA figures are not yet available. Within the TT model lineup, this engine gives the TT RS 108 more ponies than the TTS and 180 more than the base TT.

This hefty output flows through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which Audi calls S tronic. From there it goes to the front differential, as well as to a driveshaft and a hydraulic clutch pack just forward of the rear differential. That clutch pack is computer controlled to divert power to the rear wheels based on traction conditions and the drive mode selected. In normal driving, roughly 80 percent of the powertrain’s output goes to the front wheels. But when you start hustling, the system sends more power rearward and even applies the brakes selectively to overdrive the outside wheels, which promotes more agile turn-in.


The RS uses the strut front and multilink rear suspension geometry of the standard TT, but with firmer shocks and springs and a 0.4-inch-lower ride height. Magnetorheological shocks likely will be standard on U.S. cars, but a Dynamic Plus suspension with even stiffer springs and tighter, non-adjustable shocks will be offered as an option for the hard-core. The standard tires are 245/35-19 high-performance summer tires on nine-inch-wide wheels, while 255/30-20s will be optional. Those are the same combinations offered on the TTS, as the RS uses the same fenders and has no space for larger rubber.

The TT RS does, however, come with larger front brakes—14.6-by-1.3-inch front rotors with lightweight aluminum hat sections clamped by eight-piston calipers, and 12.2-by-0.9-inch rotors with single-piston sliding calipers in the rear. Those front brakes are not only 1.3 inches larger than the ones on the TTS; they’re also bigger than the front brakes on a Porsche 911 Carrera S. And if you want even more braking, carbon-ceramic rotors are an option for the front wheels.

RS Visuals

As mentioned earlier, the RS cars are instantly identifiable thanks to a new front fascia with larger air intakes in the lower corners, an egg-crate grille, and a more pronounced lower spoiler. In the rear, the RS has larger exhaust pipes, a prominent diffuser, and a fixed rear wing.

Inside, this most potent TT comes standard with RS sport seats with a plethora of available adjustments, as well as diamond-pattern upholstery with contrasting stitching that’s convincingly luxurious. The dashboard, console lid, and armrests also can be swathed in stitched leather as part of an option package.

For the most part, the TT RS shares the lovely interior of the standard TT, with the climate controls cleverly integrated in the vent registers and the 12.3-inch high-definition screen that serves as a highly configurable instrument cluster. One addition is a special RS screen that lets you display engine power and torque outputs, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, and the four individual tires’ pressures and temperatures.

When you select the screen with the large tachometer in the middle, the dial changes color as the revs climb, culminating in a flashing red dial as engine revs approach the redline. It’s not only amusing, but you can see this upshift reminder in your peripheral vision even when you’re focused on the road.

Sound and Fury

The RS comes with launch control to help achieve that mid-three-second zero-to-60-mph time, and the car sounds saucy at full throttle with a raspy, syncopated five-cylinder exhaust note that is particularly stirring at redline shifts. The standard exhaust system contains active valves to keep the volume low at cruising speeds while revealing the full soundtrack at high revs. An optional sport exhaust has a similar two-step nature, but with the volume turned up a few notches.

We had a few laps on Spain’s Jarama circuit, the one-time home of the Spanish Grand Prix, and the RS felt capable and secure on the track. With some 59 percent of the weight on the front tires, the car’s tail never threatened to step out, although you could provoke some rotation by trail-braking or suddenly lifting in midcorner. But even after only three laps, the temperature of the front tires had risen nearly 50 degrees higher than the rears. Despite that clear indication about which end of the car was working harder, Audi’s long experience with Quattro power distribution prevents any major understeer. But you still can’t dance with the RS at the limit the way you can with a good rear-drive car.

The 400 ponies are sufficient to make the RS truly rocket down the straights and yank it hard out of the corners. The dual-clutch automatic transmission can be shifted manually via either the lever or the paddle shifters, and the gear selections were quick and crisp.

On the smooth Spanish highways and back roads, the standard suspension with the magnetic shocks is well controlled and comfortable, while the Dynamic Plus suspension feels firmer and somewhat jiggly on even slightly rough pavement. Road noise is prominent on certain surfaces—which is not surprising, since all the cars on hand were fitted with the 20-inch wheels and tires.

Brake feel is great, with a firm pedal that is easy to modulate. However, while the steering effort selections in Audis are always clearly distinguishable, usually only one feels linear and natural. In the RS, that’s the Comfort setting, as there’s a clear two-step feel in Dynamic.

Audi also offers an Auto mode, which was described as somewhat between the two others, as well as an Individual setting, in which the driver can mix and match preferred settings for steering effort, powertrain response, exhaust sound, suspension setting, and Quattro performance, which basically shifts the base front-to-rear power distribution toward the rear as driving becomes more vigorous.

Overall, the TT RS presents an appealing package that defies easy comparison. When it goes on sale in the early summer of 2017—likely as a 2018 model—it’s expected to have a base price around $60,000. We can’t think of another car that can match its below-100-mph acceleration at anything close to that price. You can legitimately compare its performance to cars ranging from a Porsche 718 Cayman S to a BMW M2 to a Chevrolet Corvette.

Yes, the RS is perhaps too benign for maximum cornering amusement, and its rear seat is barely suitable for small children, but it does have all-wheel drive for year-round use even in wintery climes. And it has enough electronic trickery to amuse even avid infotainment fanboys. That combination makes it an automotive decathlete with great appeal for those who want a supremely capable daily driver.

2018 Audi TT RS coupe - Photos