Audi has announced US pricing for the white-hot, and highly anticipated TT RS. Going on sale this summer, prices start at $56,850USD. The heart of the TT RS is its engine, a 2.5L TFSI turbocharged five cylinder cranking out 360hp. A six-speed manual is the only transmission available. Personally, I could not be more proud of Audi for that. I’d love to be the Audi salesman who sees the guy waltz into the showroom, check in hand, wanting the RS, but only with an automatic.
“Sorry sir, but if you can’t row your own gears, you don’t get to play.”
And that guy would miss out on some serious fun. No shock that all TT RS’ are Quattros, and putting that power to the pavement delivers a 0-60mph sprint of 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of 174mph. To keep everything under control, Audi’s magnetic ride is standard, which is essentially an active suspension. There is also a sport mode that tightens ride and response even further, with the added bonus of a more raucous exhaust note.
The TT has suffered, in my opinion, a somewhat unfair rep here as a bit a a girly car. In my opinion, the four cylinder TT epitomizes what Porsche should be selling as their entry level car (and no one called the 944 a chick car). The TT RS ought to silence those critics, but on the same note, we’re lucky this car is reaching our shores at all, since there were doubts Audi would be allowed to. You see, The TT RS is more powerful, quicker, and cheaper than a Porsche Boxster or Cayman, and the fear was the Audi would be a threat to the Porsches. Again, I applaud VW Group for letting the TT RS arrive here, and it makes sense. The buyer who’s dreamed of owning a new Porsche his whole life won’t be sidetracked by an Audi. But in any case, the TT RS is a welcome high-performance sports car to our market, and has earned a spot at the top of the heap.
