Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

AUDI TT Mk1

BUYER’SGUIDE

198 Classic& SportsCarDecember 2015

B

asedon a shortenedVWGolf

4motionplatformand aimed

squarelyat the PorscheBoxster

market,the TT was a brilliant

derivationof the hatchback.It

featuredfour-wheeldriveand

a choiceof 1.8 turboenginesat

first, later joinedby a 3.2-litrenarrow-angleV6.

Greatlooksand 2+2 Coupéor two-seatRoad-

ster bodieswerecombinedwith Boxster-beating

performance.Autocarwas impressed,describing

it as ‘one of Audi’s mostengaging machines in

recenttimes...a handlingsensationnext to its

otherperformancecars...morealivethanany

Audiwe’vedrivensincethe originalquattro’.

The TT soonprovedto be morepopularin

Britainthananywhereelse and the rangeof

optionsincreasedto includefront-wheel-drive

Roadsterand Coupéwith 150PSor 180PS,plus

Coupéand Roadsterquattrowith 180PS,225PS

or 3.2V6 250PS. The225Coupéquattrowasby

far the top sellerand is generallyregardedas the

best affordablemodeltoday, the V6s and (in

particular) the rarelightened240PSSport

commandinga significantpricepremium.

Front-driveversionssold in relativelysmall

numbersand camewith five-speed’boxesinstead Abt(TT)andBartelsclashinDTMraceatNorisringin’0 2

Roadsterversionwasintroduceda yearafterCoupéin’9 9

of the six-speedunit of quattrosand the sophis-

ticatedDirectShiftGearbox(DSG)fittedto

mostV6s.With standardheatedleatherseats

and a powerhood,the Roadsteris an appealing

way to enjoyfreshair motoring.The TT also

becamea successfulracer , FrenchmanLaurent

Aïellowinningthe DTMtitle in 2002.

An earlyrecallon pre-2000cars to adjustthe

suspension,fit ESPelectronicstabilitycontrol

and a rear spoiler failed to dampen enthusiasm

for the model–and neitherdid the BBC’sWatch-

dogprogrammeforcingthe makerto replace

faultydashpodsfree on TTs with completeAudi

history. It’s one of the vital checkpoints.

A full servicerecordis highlydesirableon all

complexmoderncars, ideallyfrommaindealers

or respectedindependentspecialists.Inspect

panelalignment,becausepoorlyrepairedacci-

dent damagewill comebackto hauntyou.

Be waryof modifications:have they beendone

well,has the car beenthrashed,and whatextra

stressesare beingput on othercomponents?

Thereshouldbe two keys and an emergency

key, plus the radiocode.Checkthat the remote

locksand unlocksbothdoorsas well as the boot-

lid. Also confirm that the warning triangle, jack,

tools, compressor and tyre foam are in the boot.

The conceptcar thatbroughtIngolstadt’s

sportingheritagebackto life is knockingon

classicstatus.MalcolmMcKayinvestigates

PHOTOGRAPHYTONYBAKER

4

5 5

6

7