Audi launches sportier TT - AutoWeek Magazine
By JAMES FRANEY, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

Audi hopes to win customers away from BMW’s Z4 and Mercedes-Benz’s SLK class with its new TT-S premium roadster.
Natalia Schwark, Audi executive for product marketing for sports cars, said that Audi was “looking at all the competition in the premium roadster segment”--but in particular the Mercedes SLK and BMW Z4.

“These are the main competitors for this car,” Schwark said.
The TT-S is a sportier version of the Audi TT. The TT-S’s 2.0-liter gasoline engine has been tuned to produce 272 hp, up from 200 hp on the original car, and accelerates from 0-62 mph in 5.6 seconds. Audi uses the S badge for the sportier variants of its lineup. The automaker already has S versions of the A3, A4, A5, A6 and A8.

Both of Audi’s German premium rivals have already introduced sportier versions of their premium roadsters. Mercedes launched an AMG version of the SLK class in 2001, while BMW introduced an M version of the Z4 in 2005. Mercedes’ in-house AMG unit and BMW’s in-house M division produce high-performance variants of their respective carmakers’ models.

The current SLK AMG uses a 5.4-liter, 360 hp engine that can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 4.9 seconds, while the Z4 M uses a 3.2-liter, 343 hp engine that can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 5.0 seconds.

The TT was first launched in 1998. The second-generation car went on sale in 2006 and was Europe's best-selling premium roadster last year. Audi sold 38,581 TTs in 2007, up from 14,852 in 2006, according to market researcher JATO Dynamics. The car is built in Gyor, Hungary, where the A3 cabriolet is also made.

Prices for the TT-S will start at 44,900 euros in Germany with tax, or about $69,900 at current exchange rates. That is 12,150 euros, or $18,900, more than the base TT. The TT-S goes on sale across Europe in June.

 

I like it but, $70,000 for a TT????

 

i love the looks of the tt, but unless they drop a 4.2l v8 in there i dont see the point.

 

AMEN!

 

Ridiculously over-priced and under-powered. The Z4M is out the door in the mid 50's, Cayman S in the mid 60's. Who the hell would blow an extra 10-20k for an AWD slug next to those two?

 

i dont know what you guys are talking about... they never price according to exchange rate

It will fall between Cayman and Z4M pricing if anything.