05-30-2009, 08:49 PM
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| Edmunds First Drive: 2009 Audi TT RS
      Quote: Audi Tries To Make a Porsche
The 2009 Audi TT RS bears not a little weight of expectation. This is the latest product of Quattro GmbH, Audi's crack tuning division responsible for the acclaimed R8 and RS4. It also enters a sector of the market enlivened by the arrival of the brilliant new Lotus Evora, the Nissan 370Z and the revised Porsche Cayman. If you can raise the funds, there's never been a better time to indulge in a baby supercar.
The 2009 Audi TT RS enters the fray with no shortage of firepower. The turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 offers up a mighty impressive 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. It can, in other words, stand front splitter to front splitter with the Porsche Cayman S. Priced at $68,400 in the U.K., the TT RS also matches the Porsche for price, however.
As things stand, Audi has no plans to bring the RS to the U.S., although there's no technical reason why it can't. "We'd need to do a bit of emissions work but it's not a big deal," says Stephan Reil, the head of Quattro GmbH. If the marketing boffins can make a case for the hottest TT ever, then America will be indulged.
Well, the TT Did Race in the DTM, You Know
We've become used to Quattro GmbH serving up subtle but effective makeovers. Think RS4 or RS6. Even the R8 makes the requisite supercar statement while remaining true to Audi's modest, Teutonic brand values. But the TT RS is different. It is (whisper it) a bit aftermarket.
To separate its appearance from the regular TT, the RS gets a front aero splitter, extended rocker sills, new 18-inch cast-aluminum wheels, bigger tailpipes and a new rear aero diffuser. Such modifications are to be expected and tick the "add sportiness" box on the order sheet. More controversial, though, is the vast rear wing. With its bulbous aluminum mountings and flat plane, it looks ill at ease on the TT's otherwise curvaceous rump. It's the sort of thing you might expect to see on a 1980s Honda Civic driven by an acne-ridden 16-year-old.
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