By: IOL Motoring Staff
Geneva Motor Show - Now this is cutting to the chase at its best.
Having just pulled the covers off its all-new TT , Audi also unveiled the new TT sport concept show car as if to tell the world that a more potent version of its 2+2 seater is certainly on the cards.
An early preview of the RS, perhaps?
But the bigger question surrounds the engine - and how far is Audi prepared to tune its EA888 2-litre turbopetrol engine.
Let's just look back at how the world went “wow” when Mercedes unleashed its 2.0T A 45 AMG with 265kW. Now comes an Audi concept car with a 2-litre engine that produces 309kW! That's just 22kW shy of the RS 5's V8. In fact, the engine has a higher specific output (kW per cc) than Audi's Le Mans R18 race car of 2001.
TO THE LIMIT
“We wanted to demonstrate what the new TT's technology can do if you take it a step further,” said Audi board member Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, before stating that the car was designed for motor racing rather than road use.
The engine delivers its maximum output at 6700rpm and also produces 450Nm of twisting force from 2400rpm upwards. To cope with all the extra boost (now up to 1.8 bar), the EA888 was given special aluminium pistons with integrated cooling channels, strengthened forged steel crankshaft and cast alloy crankcase and a modified cylinder head.
Given that this TT weighs just 1344kg, we're not going to argue with Audi's claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.7 seconds.
Power is channelled through an S Tronic dual-clutch gearbox and Quattro all-wheel drive. A stiffer suspension set-up is in place to deliver the sharper cornering capabilities you'd expect from a race car.
Aerodynamic efficiency and maximum downforce is achieved by the racy-looking exterior package while the concept's cabin has been stripped down to the essentials and swallows the front occupants with low-set racing bucket seats.