Super-light Audi TT sheds 300kg

Published Apr 25, 2013

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Audi has just revealed a TT concept car that is just 0.1 seconds slower from 0-100km/h than the 265kW TT RS Plus, despite having a much smaller engine.

While the RS employs a 2.5-litre five-cylinder motor, the TT Ultra Quattro concept makes use of Audi's 2-litre TFSI four-pot.

Sure, it's been beefed up to the tune of 228kW and 400Nm, but that's not the real reason it can launch from standstill to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 277km/h.

You see, tipping the scales at just 1111kg, the concept is actually 300kg lighter than its closest equivalent production model.

Audi achieved this through a whole raft of measures.

For starters, the bodyshell makes extensive use of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), Fibreglass-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and magnesium.

Bulk was removed from the engine thanks to modifications to the crankcase, the crankshaft, the balancer shafts, the flywheel, the sump, the bolts and certain ancillary units.

The use of CFRP in the rear end, the centre tunnel, the B-pillars and the roof contributes to this significant saving, as do magnesium components in the floor and in the hinge reinforcements.

The front brakes with their ceramic discs and aluminium fixed calipers also make a contribution, and there are savings to be found in the titanium exhaust system and the CFRP wheels with their high-strength aluminium spokes.

It doesn't end there - fibreglass-reinforced polymer also replaces more conventional steel for the coil springs in the suspension, helping to further reduce unsprung masses.

The super-slim TT will be on show at the Wörthersee motor show in Germany next month and, who knows, many of its innovative lightweight solutions could eventually filter through to the rest of the Audi range.

In fact, Audi hints that this will at least be the case with some niche models.

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