The Audi TT turns 25 and remains one of the most iconic models in the four rings, even if the current generation (the third) will not have a direct heir. We started talking about her at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show, when Audi presented the first prototype designed by the American Freeman Thomas, under the guidance of the then style manager Peter Schreyer. On the one hand, the name “TT” evoked the legendary Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, where NSU and DKW achieved multiple successes on two wheels, on the other it recalled the sporty NSU TT of the 1960s. The production model was presented in 1998 and was very similar to the prototype, even if the designers had to adapt the shapes to the PQ34 platform of the Volkswagen Group, the same one on which the contemporary Audi A3, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Golf were born.
From the very beginning, the car was produced by Audi Hungaria: the pre-painted bodies were transported by rail from Ingolstadt to the Győr site at night, where the final assembly took place. In the
1999 the roadster variant was also presented, which retained high-quality details such as the aluminum components of the interior and the design of the wheels. On a technical level, the TT was the first Audi with a dual-clutch gearbox, while the engine range included 4-cylinder turbo engines with power ratings from 150 to 225 HP, flanked by the 250 HP V6. To these was added the 240 HP 1.8 Turbo of the Audi TT quattro Sport, of which only 1,168 units were built. In eight years, 178,765 Audi TT Coupés of the first generation were produced, while between 1999 and 2006, 90,733 Audi TT Roadsters were built.
The second generation of the Audi TT was launched in 2006 (Coupé) and 2007 (Roadster), using the PQ35 platform and space frame construction with lightweight materials. The magnetorheological electronic suspension and the 2.0 TDI engine made their debut, while the 4-cylinder gained power, but the 272 HP S, 340 HP RS and 360 HP RS Plus versions also arrived. The third generation of the Audi TT stopped the balance at 1,230 kg, ie 50 less than the previous one, and introduced technologies such as digital instrumentation and rear light clusters with OLED technology. The performance went up again: the Audi TTS with 2.0 TFSI engine had 310 HP, while the TT RS went up to 400 HP and 480 Nm thanks to the 5-cylinder turbo petrol engine.
