Audi TT RS Coupé 8J (2009): Latino athletes

Audi TT RS Coupé 8J (2009)
Latino athlete

Sometimes it takes a break in order to give an automobile an aura. The Audi TT was such a case. At the beginning of the 2000s, the compact sports car was clearly overshadowed by the more powerfully motorized Porsche Cayman. At regulars’ tables, the Roadster was often referred to as the flattened A3. In addition, many still remembered the problems with the “light-footed rear” of the first TT. That should change with the second generation of the compact sports car. At Quattro GmbH, managing director Werner Frowein and head of development Stephan Reil had the idea of ​​building a sporty two-seater that could compete with the competitor from Zuffenhausen in 2005. “The TT RS was based on two ideas: On the one hand, that the TT can do a lot more as a sports car than the general public believes, and on the other hand, we wanted to expand our sporty portfolio into the compact class.”

Latino athlete

Return
Further

Development of the dynamic TT spearhead began even before the second generation of the Audi roadster was presented in March 2006. For reasons of confidentiality, the developers packed the five-cylinder into a two-door Audi A3. As with the first VW Golf GTI, only a tight circle of around 20 people knew. In order to let such a project fly under the radar, it helped that Quattro GmbH was still a manageable size and that everything could be done on the – in the truest sense of the word – short official channel.

The decisive factor was the engine. It had to be installed across. Due to the limited installation space of the PQ35 platform including the transverse installation concept, a six-cylinder was not an option and the two-liter TFSIs did not have the performance that the Quattro makers wanted. In any case, it had to be significantly more than 300 hp. The solution to these problems was found in South America. Because VW had reanimated the five-cylinder for a Jetta in South America. The unit was a 170 PS MPI vacuum cleaner, with a displacement of two and a half liters and a solid cast iron block.

“It was a great basis for us to put a different cylinder head on it. The stroke and bore matched our production facilities exactly and a five-cylinder is half a V10 for us, so we also had the right heads,” remembers Stephan Reil . The implementation was then no longer rocket science. The technicians put a TFSI head on the engine, along with the matching charger and exhaust manifold, including pipes and hoses. “When it fired for the first time, older colleagues who still knew the sound of the Rallye S1 opened their hearts,” says Stephan Reil. For the engine, which ultimately debuted in the Audi TT RS, the technicians adopted the crankcase and construction of the original engine. Only the block was cast with the material of the TDI engines because it was better in terms of strength

In order to advance the project, which had meanwhile become a matter close to the heart of the Audi dynamic engineers, it needed a blessing from above. That means at that time from VW boss Martin Winterkorn. A placet from the head of the company would open all doors. In May 2006 “WiKo” was in Ingolstadt and Stephan Reil’s group wanted to take the chance and convince the boss with a prototype. From the outside, the test car looked like a completely normal TT and the all-powerful VW boss didn’t even want to get in. “I already know”. Then Stephan Reil asked him to open the bonnet and count the spark plug caps. One two three four??. five. That was reason enough for the thoroughbred engineer to get behind the wheel. After the test drive with the 350 hp prototype, the CEO was enthusiastic and supported the project. It didn’t take more to make the Audi TT RS a reality. A dual clutch transmission was initially out of the question for the first TT RS due to the torque. So the developers got the six-speed manual gearbox from the VW T5 bus, as did the dual clutch gearbox later.

We drove the original TT RS on the famous rally track of the Col de Turini and we are firmly convinced: If TT RS, then hand-torn. Because this is the only way to keep the dull, babbling five-cylinder in a good mood or revs. Even today, the chase around corners in the crisp coupé is a real pleasure, although the rear sometimes reports when the load changes, but this never becomes a problem. No wonder that the Audi TT RS has contested the top dog Porsche Cayman S for the throne. If you ask Stephan Reil what he is particularly proud of about “his” TT RS, the answer comes like a shot. “On the engine! Take a look at how many vehicles it is now installed in. It’s a success story!”

But the compact athlete also brought in his merits in racing. “We told the board that the TT RS must also be active and successful in racing, if it is to be taken seriously,” says Stephan Reil. For the VLN endurance championship, the technicians, together with Rader Motorsport, put an extreme TT RS on the wheels, which competed in the near-series SP3T class. Worthy of all honor, but no chance against the sophisticated GT3 cars. Actually. Unless it’s pouring rain, you’re on the Nordschleife and have tuned the car for downforce. When the racing TT RS was last used in 2012 at the six-hour race on the Nordschleife, all factors were right. The team put together a perfect strategy, always had the right rubbers on the axles and it rained like a bucket most of the time. This equalized the advantage of the Kraftbolzen GT3 like the Phoenix R8 up to the Döttinger Höhe and the Audi TT RS took overall victory. What few people know: with a front-wheel drive vehicle.

press release