Audi’s TT Roadster
Pure fun – period
By Michael Binstock
Acorn Automotive Editor

It should be made legal. Everyone should be made to drive a convertible sometime in their driving career. These is something very special about open-top motoring, especially on PCH or in the canyons and the Audi TT Roadster fits the bill, completely

The TT combines a no-compromise design with outstanding high performance and has generated enthusiasm among everyone with a passion for driving. The Roadster is available with either a 180or a new 225-horsepower, 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder turbocharged five-valve engine. A responsive six-speed manual transmission is standard with the bigger motor, along with larger ventilated rear brakes and sporty dual exhaust with a larger manifold.

Even more impressive than horsepower, is the TT’s vigorous pulling power. The 225-hp TT’s maximum torque of 207-lbs. ft. is developed between 2,200 and 5,500 rpm, and 173-lbs. ft. of torque is available between 1,950 and 4,700 rpm from the 180-hp engine. The well-chosen gear ratios ensure supreme progress, with a five-speed manual gearbox for the 180-hp front-wheel-drive TT and a six-speed manual gearbox for the 225-hp quattro.

The Roadster is not an afterthought. Roadsters have long been cars for purists but that no longer means sacrificing safety and comfort. The new TT Roadster illustrates this perfectly. Advanced technical design and the most dedicated attention to detail put this newest Audi product in a strong position.

Of course, an open car is only truly attractive if it still appeals to the eye with the soft-top raised. This was the challenge facing Audi’s designers as they designed the TT Roadster. The Roadster’s bodywork requirements were all taken into account and developed parallel to the Coupe, explaining the many roadster-specific ideas that have turned the experience of driving under open skies into pure enjoyment.

The TT’s soft-top, with its large heated rear window, can be opened simply and stowed behind the seats. A tonneau cover is quickly and easily attached to conceal the soft-top. An electrically retractable glass windbreak, shaped to follow the outline of the rollover bars reduces turbulence, something that roadster occupants usually have to contend with at high speeds.

Every detail of the TT confirms its individuality on the sports-car scene. The designers have always gone for the visual and functional answers that remain true to the TT’s characte where form follows function.

In the cockpit area, particular attention has been paid to every detail as well—the sport steering wheel; the dashboard instruments with matte aluminum surrounds; the pedals and the stainless steel support for the "dead pedal" are all design details typical of the TT.

The name for the TT Coupe pays homage to a legendary European motorsports event: the Tourist Trophy. Held for the first time in 1905 on the Isle of Man, the Tourist Trophy was a spectacular car and motorcycle race.

At the very start of the century, Gordon Bennett, the heir to a New York newspaper empire, donated a trophy as a means of comparing the performance of the American and European automobile manufacturers. The first Gordon Bennett race was held in 1900, on a 352 mile course from Paris to Lyon in France.

After several years, the race was moved to the Isle of Man due to a ban on road races in England. Held there until 1922, it was the sheer difficulty of the Isle of Man road circuit and the notable personalities from automotive history who took part—the race was won in 1906 by C.S. Rolls driving his own Rolls-Royce—that soon made the Tourist Trophy the motorsport legend that it is today.

For 20 years now, Audi drivers have enjoyed the benefits of quattro all-wheel drive. TT buyers will be able to enjoy a new quattro system, designed specifically for this car, to deliver the unbelievably quick reactions that have been a quattro hallmark since its introduction.

In practice, the driver of an Audi TT quattro benefits at all times from the proven advantages of this permanent all-wheel drive.

The typical sports car from an earlier generation was often spartan in its equipment, with many details that almost seemed to have been improvised. Today’s sports-car driver is looking for performance, but also for character and individuality, together with a modern car’s standards of comfort and convenience.

This car gives the driver everything they could want in an open top sportscar. It’s fast, fun and it sure gets the looks. You can take a look at Rusnak Westlake in the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall.