Our e-mail boxes overflow with the detritus of Internet by way of get-rich-quick schemes, enhance your whatever and save-my-bank-account-from-third-world-dictator messages. Yesterday my box was met with a pleasant surprise, the new Audi TT Coupe.
ec's love affair with the Audi TT is sweet and long lived, lasting longer than most SoCal marriages it seems. We signed our TT nuptials in the late 90s upon first drive, and sealed the deal with our first long-term Audi TT in January 2000.
Like the most perfect of love affairs, the TT has aged well over time like a fine wine, and we're pleasantly surprised each time we take a sip. Over the years, the TT has become more powerful and sophisticated with a 3.2 engine mated to a DSG transmission. The most recent TT experience was our 2004 Audi TT 3.2 DSG, a car that we kept as a favored member of the ec stable for close to a year. Like sulking children, we reluctantly gave it back; after all, what's not to like about a TT?
The new Audi TT coupe's appearance is a dramatic departure from the rounded, industrial-look, leather and aluminum-clad steed we have come to know. In addition, it is 5.4 inches longer, and gains 3.1 inches in width. Whether the larger sized vehicle's weight is offset by virtue of the new car's ASF Aluminum Space Frame design is unclear.
The new TT, as before, will initially be offered in a 2+2 configuration, the plus 2 of the former serving mostly as a shelf for one's briefcase and jacket. It will be interesting to see where those extra 5.4 inches are allocated and how useable the rear is.
The choice of gasoline engines is predictable with Audi offering its 2.0T and 3.2 V6. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, but a DSG is also available. The four drives the front, the V6 all four via Quattro.
There are a whole host of new features announced in the TT Coupe, and we'll bring you the news as it breaks, and of course a First Drive, Seat Time and Long Termer? We'll let you know.