Flat-bottom
steering wheel now has more aluminium
Although there have been relatively few changes to the
exterior styling, the same cannot be said of the interior. When the first TT
was launched, considerable praise was given to the interior design and, to a
large extent, much of this was continued over to the series 2 cars. Now,
though, there have been more radical changes, the main one being the advanced
instrument panel in front of the driver, where conventional instrumentation is
combined with the MMI system.
The MMI switches on the console are very similar to those of
the latest A3.
A further change has been to place the controls for the
air-conditioning system in the air vents themselves. The fat-bottomed steering
wheel has been redesigned with rather more aluminium on the spokes, and the
airbag inside it takes up 40 per cent less space than before, without affecting
safety.
The new instrument panel will have different modes. In
normal mode, it will display the normal instruments, with the tachometer and
speedometer being most prominent, but these are digital images, rather than the
usual mechanical instruments. In the info-tainment mode, these instruments
become smaller so that there is room, for example, for the navigation maps.
With the TTs, there is a third mode which brings the tachometer to the fore.
The instruments
look conventional, but are actually digital displays. And, the MMI controls are
similar to those of the new A3.
To begin with, two engines will be available for the TT, a
230 Ps version of the 2.0 TFSI unit, and the 2.0 TDI, developing 184 Ps. A
third engine, another 2.0 TFSI, but with an output of 310 Ps, will be available
only for the TTs. The 2.0 TDI will only be available with front-wheel drive and
a manual gearbox. The 230 PS TT, with S tronic and quattro drive, will have a claimed
0-62 mph time of 5.3 seconds, while the 310 Ps TTs, again with s tronic and
quattro drive, will achieve this in 4.7 seconds. The control system for the
Haldex coupling has been revised so that drive is more readily distributed to
the rear wheels. With Drive select, putting the car into Dynamic mode ensures
that drive is transferred to the rear wheels earlier than normal.
Magnetic ride dampers will be available as an option, and
these have been upgraded so that three settings will be available, comfort,
auto and dynamic. They will be controlled by the Drive select system which will
be an option on the TT and standard on the TTs.
The TT will be available in 11 colours, two of them
completely new for Audi, Nano grey and Tango red. Two colours will be kept
exclusively for the TTs: Panther black and sepang blue. Inside, there will now
be three colour schemesto choose from and, for s line models, two-tone
upholstery will be available, with contrasting stitching. The s line sport
seats will have quilting for the centre sections.
Gone is the conventional handbrake lever, replaced by the
small control for the electronic parking brake on the console. The TTs has
newly-developed aluminium callipers which save 5 kg, and has 338 mm discs at
the front.
Audi TT3 On Road
Interestingly, despite the fanfares at Geneva, the new TT is
not yet ready for sale because Type Approval is still being carried out. It
should not be long, though, before the new TT is in the showrooms. Britain has
always been one of its best markets and so, hopefully, it won’t be long before
right-hand drive cars are available. As yet, there has been no indication of
prices, but we would expect only a modest increase over the current model.
We’ll soon be reporting on many of the technical aspects of
the new TT.
