This is the final version of the Audi TT | GRR
Remember the first time you saw an Audi TT? Maybe you thought the rounded shape was a bit soft for an Audi sports car, given the butchness of the Quattro and Coupe models that came before it. Or perhaps the concept car styling (the 1998 original was a doppelganger for the 1995 prototype) left an impression in your head of a new kind of Audi, as a style-driven brand, perhaps?
Irrespective of how you feel about the TT, it’s hard to argue that this sports car hasn’t made a big impact in Europe, and particularly in Britain – we’ve been one of the TT’s biggest markets for some time.
But soon, we’ll all be waving goodbye. TT production is coming to an end after a quarter of a century, spanning three generations, with no direct successor in the pipeline. But Audi isn’t allowing the TT to slip quietly out of the back door. Instead, it’s sending it off in style.
This is the final version of the TT that you’ll be able to buy in Britain. It's called the TT Final Edition, and both coupe and roadster versions of the Final Edition are coming. No five-cylinder RS variants are coming, though.
All versions are marked out by adopting the regular TT’s black styling pack, bringing with it black badging, door mirrors exhausts, as well as a fixed rear wing, while the roadster version gets blacked-out roll-hoops and wind diffusers. 20-inch five-spoke wheels are standard fit, while the S rides on the familiar seven-spoke ‘rotor’ wheels of the TT RS.
Inside, the TT Final Edition comes with extended leather upholstery – sadly no nod to the ultra-rare ‘Baseball’ stitched leather offered on the original, though Audi did offer that on the 20th-anniversary version of the TT released five years ago. Instead, the Final Edition wears sportier touches, such as an Alcantara steering wheel headlined by a 12 o’clock marker, as well as bright red inserts on the seats, air vents and centre console.
As for the price? £41,910 opens the coupe line-up for the 40 TFSI model, boasting 197PS (145kW), while the roadster starts from £43,660. More power is offered in the 45 TFSI version, 245PS (180kW) and quattro all-wheel-drive, while the TT S also makes use of 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged power, but with 320PS (235kW) at its disposal.
What lies ahead for the TT nameplate? Uncertainty at best. But some TT influence could creep into the design of a new production SUV based on the Activesphere concept revealed last month.