Modern Classics Magazine – September 2019

52 modern classics

squat or nose rise, no squirming or scrabbling. Just a

sucker punch of torque that forces me deeper into this

back-clamping one-piece bucket seat as the engine

screams, snarls, and snapples on the overrun.

As I hurtle past the surprised-looking Porsche pilot,I

catch sight of the ref lection of the TT in the 996’s windows

and I’m struck by how overtly purposeful it looks. That

black roof – standard on the Sport – visually lowersthe

whole thing, and that plastic extension to the rear spoiler

reminds me of a 1970s Porsche 930 Turbo.

Then there are the seats. Harsh and unyielding, yes,but

with a visible body-coloured glassfibre shell and provision

made for harnesses, plus the removal of the TT’s pointless

plus-two rear seats, it’s more Lotus Exige than V W Golf.

The high bolsters and low roof make it as difficult togetin

and out of as a fully caged-up racer. Bare aluminiumis on

show everywhere, Alcantara replaces the usual leather,

what

topay

Concours

£12,000

Good

£8500

Usable

£6500

Project

£4000

and anything relating to luggage-toting has been trimmed

back to the point where I’m surprised it still has a glovebox

li d. If the accusation that the original TT was a poser’scar

was valid, then this hardcore version is almost a self-

conscious overreaction – and is all the better for it.

But how will it cope on some of the toughest roads

England has to throw at it? I turn off the A628, past asign

warning HGVs not to bother, and onto gravelly, rutted

tarmac frequented by farmers in pickup trucks. Away

from the slick A-roads, the TT Quattro Sport starts to get

uncomfortable, the stiff suspension joggling the little

coupé constantly to the point where the steering wheel

starts to feel like a pneumatic drill.

And yet there’s nuance. Rather than being the victim of

Max Power-style short-travel-damper lowering, the Sport

fizzes with information overload. The pleasantly heavy

steering is telling me which way the front wheels are being

Great drives

Spoiler

extension an

exotic nod.

I bought one

david clarke

‘Once I discovered the QS, it

proved irresistible,’ says David

Clarke of his Misano Red example. ‘The

optional Recaro seats are a must for

lateral support while blasting twisty

coastal B-roads. During four years of

ownership I’ve had no reliability issues,

apart from some sporadic ESP and

ABS fault codes. It’s best suited to A

and B roads, and no more than

the available performance

is required for that!’