INTERVIEW
theA4a bitof arroganceby association,butwe were
dealingwithit ina tongue-in-cheekway.’
The A4 didn’thavethesportyimageof itsarch-rival,the
BMW 3 Series–yet.‘In 1995 thedecisionwasmadeto
enter the BTCC,’saysDavid.‘TheA4QuattroSportSuper
Tourer wasdevelopedby AudiSportinGermany,thenthe
various domesticmarketscouldrunthemintheirnational
championships.AudiUKusedto descendonthoseraces
with big marquees.Dealersbroughtcustomersas VIPs,
and Frank BielaandJohnBintcliffewouldvisitdealers
with the racingcarsandwe’dsetupspecialevents,
complete withScalextricsets.
‘The A4 QuattrodominatedtheBTCCin1996,before
being banned–alwaysgoodformarketing–anddidits
last year, 1998,runningfront-wheeldrivewithlines
through the‘Quattro’badges!Alsoin1998,intothis
combinationof premium-brandseparationand
motorsportcredibility–we launchedtheTT.At theNEC
Motor Showwe onlyhadTTsonourstand,andyou
couldn’tmoveonpressday.’
JonZammettrecognises this as the point where Audi
reallycameof age:‘Romulus Rost designed the interior,
FreemanThomasdidthe exterior, and it went from
prototypeto productionwith only a couple of side-vents
altered.TheUKwastheTT's biggest market, selling
15,000a year,whichwasmad for a sports car. We kept
havingto askAudiformore production.
‘Whydidit succeedso well? Well, it was its own thing
withinthesportscarmarket. We took German design and
plonkedit inKensington.It was unconventional, and also
relativelyinexpensive–possible thanks to the Golf MkIV
platform–butthejewel-like details were what made it.’
However,theearlyTTsuffered sometimes-fatal
stabilityissues,itsBauhaus curves offering little rear
downforceandcontributing to barely-controllable
oversteer.Thisleadto a high-profile recall in order to fit
rearspoilersandESP.‘I was the PR handling that crisis,’
Zammettrecalls.‘Wecouldn’t share the statistics to put it
intoperspective,butinthat period there were no end of
fatalaccidentsinvolvingPorsche 911s.'
Davidis nowsearching for an early, unmodified TT for
AudiUK’sheritagef leet.‘Customers could choose to have
theworkdone,freeof charge,’ he explains. ‘Over 80 per
centdid,butothers–including Damon Hill – appreciated
theirpurityandactuallyliked how twitchy they could be
onthelimit.They’regoing to become very collectible – I
DAVID INGRAMFORMERSENIORAUDIPRESSOFFICER neverthoughtth t ldh
'SOME BUYERS LIKEDHOW TWITCHY
THE TT COULD BE ON THE LIMIT'
Spoilerwas
addedto the
TTto tame
itson-limit
ha ndling.Until 1993, VW
decreed Audi-only
dealerships verboten.