Ingolstadt, Germany - IOL Motoring's petrolheads have always agreed that the Audi TT coupé - even the recently announced third-generation TT that's due in SA early in 2015 - is too cobby ever to be a 'pretty' car.
The roadster version, however, with its perfectly curved 'barchetta' (little boat) waistline and neatly buttressed windshield, is much sleeker - and it would seem that Audi expects French autophiles to agree with us, as it readies the 2015 Audi TT and TTS roadsters for their world debut at the Paris motor show in less than two weeks.
All the classic roadster features are there: the fabric roof that Z-folds neatly into its own aluminium tray so it doesn't steal boot space when it's down, the short side-windows and the distinct notch in the rear deck where fabric meets metal.
But the rest of it is all new. The fully automatic fabric top - available in black, beige and grey - can be raised or lowered in 10 seconds at up to 50km/h, and its magnesium, aluminium, steel and plastic framework keeps its weight down to 39kg, three kilograms less than its predecessor.
Sophisticated clamps keep the closed top tight even at high speeds, and a thick fleece layer on the black inner headlining adds proves both thermal and acoustic insulation - depending on frequency, the noise level in the interior has been reduced by as much as 6dB compared with the previous TT Roadster.
An electrically powered mesh wind deflector can also be specified as an option.
VITAL STIFFENING
The roadster is 21mm shorter than its predecessor at 4177mm overall - but its wheelbase has grown by 37mm to 2502mm, noticeably reducing the overhangs at both ends.
The bodyshell is based on the modular transverse matrix MQB platform, with high-strength components made from hot-shaped steel reinforcing the front section and the passenger compartment floor.
The rest of the passenger compartment and all the outer skin and attachment parts are made of semi-finished aluminium - cast nodes, extruded profiles and sheet metal - which has kept the kerb weight of the basic TT Roadster with 2.0 TFSI and manual 'box down to 1320kg, only 90kg more than its tintop equivalent.
A significant proportion of that has gone into vital stiffening: inside each aluminium there's a second steel pillar, which in turn houses a steel tube. Internal steel ribbing strengthens the aluminium sills, V shaped steel struts reinforce the zones underneath the engine compartment and the luggage compartment, and connect the axle carriers.
A bulkhead made up of two box profiles separates the cockpit from the boot and replaces the bottom cross member found on the coupé, and houses the sleek, rounded steel roll-over bars.
At speeds of 120km/h and above, a spoiler is electrically extended from the luggage compartment lid to provide additional downforce on the rear wheels.
POWERTRAIN
The roadster will be available at launch in Europe as the front-wheel drive, 135kW/380Nm two-litre TDI with six-speed manual 'box, and the all-wheel driven, 160kW/370Nm two-litre TFSI Quattro with six-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission.
The spunky 228kW/380Nm TTS roadster, with a choice of manual or S tronic drivetrain, will follow in the second quarter of 2015.
The quattro permanent all-wheel drive system has been redeveloped so that the harder you drive, the more power is routed to the rear axle, making the car handle much like a traditional real-wheel drive sports car - to the where controlled drifts are possible on low-friction surfaces.
Drive select is standard on the TT for the first time, enabling the driver to set engine characteristics and steering operation between Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Efficiency and Individual modes - as well as the operating parameters of optional systems including the S tronic transmission and adaptive damping (fitted as standard on the TTS.)
Sadly Audi SA, while confirming that the new TT coupé will be released locally in March 2015, says it has no plans to bring the roadster to South Africa.