2005 Audi TT quattro sport Preview

Nowadays, the TT is starting to show its age. As the competition successively updates itself, Audi's diminutive coupe and

Audi is sending the TT off with a final hurrah, a lightweight variant called the TT quattro sport. (Photo: Audi Canada)

roadster duo is beginning to lag behind in dynamics while its once futuristic styling is starting to look almost dated, due to familiarity alone. The good news is that Audi is working on a follow up, but in the meantime the stylish brand is sending the first generation off with a final hurrah - a lightweight variant called the TT quattro sport (lower case intentional).

The TT quattro sport represents the best of what Audi has to offer, at least with respect to its two-door model. It is based on the hardtop coupe, but mixes technical elements of the 225- and 250-horsepower models. Under its hood is the trusty 1.8T 20-valve inline-four, which has now been tuned to deliver a substantial 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. The engine delivers almost the same power and punch of the top-of-the-line TT 3.2 (V6), without the extra weight the larger displacement engine adds over the front wheels.

While the now-famous DSG sequential gearbox would have been an excellent pairing with the more powerful inline four, Audi

The trusty 1.8T 20-valve inline-four, has been tuned to deliver a substantial 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Audi Canada)

couldn't justify making the components for such a low-volume production model. Therefore it made perfect sense for quattro sport buyers to "make do" with an almost conventional six-speed manual gearbox. Almost conventional? Yes, the six-speed manual gets the same gears as the Euro-spec 3.2L V6 car, although the transmission housing is unaltered from the North American-spec 6-speed manual unit.

As its name suggests, this particular TT also comes equipped with quattro permanent all-wheel drive - the same system as used in the 225 and 3.2 models. In Canada the 225-horsepower all-wheel drive TT is standard, so other than the boost in power nothing particularly new here, but U.S. customers can get a less expensive, 180-horsepower, front-wheel drive version of the TT 1.8T.