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  • To be fair though, the Audi TT Ultra Quattro Concept isn’t all max power and unhinged lunacy. In fact, the thinking behind it is fairly inspired – using Audi’s racing experience to shed massive amounts of weight: the car weighs just 1,111kg, 300 less than the TTS on which it’s based.
    DOCUMENTED: 14.05.2013 | 11:26 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    Superleicht

    Like a Superleggera, but German. The Audi Audi TT Ultra Quattro Concept makes Lamborghini's (and indeed everyone else's) efforts at a lightweight special seem completely inadequate.

    Think of a German engineer and what normally springs to mind? Meticulousness? Sensibleness? Cold logic and common sense?  In most ca ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Audi, TT, Quattro, Concept, Worthersee, Festival, Lightweight, TSI
    • To be fair though, the Audi TT Ultra Quattro Concept isn’t all max power and unhinged lunacy. In fact, the thinking behind it is fairly inspired – using Audi’s racing experience to shed massive amounts of weight: the car weighs just 1,111kg, 300 less than the TTS on which it’s based.
    • Exotic materials abound all over the car. Not only does it have a carbonfibre bonnet, roof and bootlid, even parts of the body in white are made from the stuff – the rear end, central tunnel and B pillars. With the floor and hinges made of magnesium, about 100kg has been shaved from the car’s body.
    • In an effort to further improve the ride and handling, a lot of focus has also been placed on reducing unsprung mass. Or course, there are your obligatory carbon-ceramic brakes, but then there are also other innovations like fiberglass-reinforced plastic springs, as well as special, 20kg-lighter wheels, with aluminium spokes bolted to a carbonfibre rim.
  • Although it has already been more than a year, the TTRS isn’t exactly a hit among keen drivers here. You don’t know what to blame it on – that it initially came in only a 6-speed manual transmission? The boot size a joke? It looks similar to the entry-level TT? The price? All of the above? Sure, the clutch needs some getting used to and the gear changes isn’t as special as the 1 M’s, but look beyond that and you get a piece of Audi heritage in this car. A 5-cylinder 2.5-liter turbocharged heart, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission gives you 340bhp at 5,400rpm, and – like the 1 M – 450Nm from 1,600rpm.
    DOCUMENTED: 07.09.2011 | 08:01 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    The Weekday Track Cars | BMW 1 M Coupe, Audi TTRS Roadster, Porsche Cayman R

    Let’s just cut to the chase. We are gathered here today for one, just one, purpose only – to see which one is the best 300+ bhp German-made daily track car.

    Photos by Low Fai Ming The one that you can drive to the office in and not garner too much attention. The one that you can drive to t ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Audi, BMW, Porsche, TTRS, 1M, 1 Series M Coupe, Cayman, Cayman R
    • Although it has already been more than a year, the TTRS isn’t exactly a hit among keen drivers here. You don’t know what to blame it on – that it initially came in only a 6-speed manual transmission? The boot size a joke? It looks similar to the entry-level TT? The price? All of the above? Sure, the clutch needs some getting used to and the gear changes isn’t as special as the 1 M’s, but look beyond that and you get a piece of Audi heritage in this car. A 5-cylinder 2.5-liter turbocharged heart, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission gives you 340bhp at 5,400rpm, and – like the 1 M – 450Nm from 1,600rpm.
    • So some of you might be wondering why on earth a roadster is slotted among the other two coupes. Well to be honest, it’s because with a roof up/roof down option, the TTRS Roadster should - without a doubt - promise a far more superior driving experience. Try to imagine, you're driving fast along a straight road with your shades on while the canvas roof is down, then braking and downshifting, some steering input, engine and exhaust screaming in all its glory, tyres scrubbing, wide grin on your face as you negotiate one chicane to the other. Makes driving the TTRS less forgettable, doesn't it? Plus, let’s not deny how the Roadster version looks far sexier than the Coupe.
    • The 1 M doesn’t need any formal introduction. It’s the latest “baby M” to arrive on our shores, and it packs the punch with the right packaging to justify why it’s selling like hot cakes. Under that beefed up compact body, you get a chassis and engine that – just by looking on paper – have enough firepower to eliminate any other potential competition. In case some of you have forgotten, its chassis came from the E30 3 Series, suspension from the E90 M3 and last but not least, BMW’s ubiquitous 3.0-liter six-cylinder, twin-turbo’d heart. Promising ingredients, even more so when you have 340bhp (at 5,900rpm) and 450Nm (from as low as 1,500rpm) worth of torque to play around with… And a 6-speed manual transmission. Yup, 1 M and TTRS has almost similar figures; “Deliberate coincidence”, I say.
  • It was a wet morning as we all made our way to the rendezvous point in the eastern part of our little island. Great, now how on earth are we going to enjoy driving with the roof down in such crappy weather? Well, let’s just say the dude above wanted us to have a blast, so lo and behold, the weather stopped almost instantly by the time we arrived. Well, you should know what wet roads lead to – over steering antics, that sort. In the case of the 370Z and the Boxster S, it wasn't hard. Switch off the traction control, floor the pedal at the right time, steer with confidence and tadaa… “dorift-o”, as what Krado would say. Not so easy with the four-wheel driven TTS though – but a little pull of the handbrake with no traction control will see it go sideways, although not as spectacular as the other two.
    DOCUMENTED: 10.05.2011 | 16:17 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    Roof Up? Roof Down? Decisions, Decisions...

    The mission was set. Each pundit selected their choice weapon. At the end of the day, only one will emerge the best. Melding punchy performance and drop-top eye-catching good looks.

    Photos: Joel Tam & Low Fai Ming It took some thorough deliberation behind closed doors. Our market may be small, but where roads ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Porsche, Nissan, Audi, TT, TTS, Boxster, Boxster S, Roadster, 370Z, Fairlady
    • It was a wet morning as we all made our way to the rendezvous point in the eastern part of our little island. Great, now how on earth are we going to enjoy driving with the roof down in such crappy weather? Well, let’s just say the dude above wanted us to have a blast, so lo and behold, the weather stopped almost instantly by the time we arrived. Well, you should know what wet roads lead to – over steering antics, that sort. In the case of the 370Z and the Boxster S, it wasn't hard. Switch off the traction control, floor the pedal at the right time, steer with confidence and tadaa… “dorift-o”, as what Krado would say. Not so easy with the four-wheel driven TTS though – but a little pull of the handbrake with no traction control will see it go sideways, although not as spectacular as the other two.
    • After some driving, we stopped for a photo-shoot. As expected, eyes were stuck on the three beauties. We were attracting so much attention with S$760k worth of road jewels, we decided to drive around a little bit more, to get fully acquainted with each of our chosen cars before swapping.
    • I’ll begin with my choice, the face-lifted TTS. It has the smallest engine among the trio, but it is also the priciest – try S$282,973 to be more precise. It feels the liveliest, and most complete as a package – be it punts to work, evening cruises or as a show-off car. Under its bonnet lies the prolific 2.0-litre TFSI turbocharged lump mated to a six-speed twin-clutch S-tronic transmission, has a total of 272 bhp and 350 Nm worth of torque to play around with. All that power is delivered to Audi’s famous quattro four-wheel drive system, and that came in very useful in giving it the handling edge over the other two. <br><br> The downside? It feels mechanical and predictable, you end up feeling detached and less of a driver, overall it lacks in character. But still, you will enjoy throwing it hard into every sweeping bend – especially when you engage the complicated suspension’s sport mode that hardens and sharpens everything. And when a cat crosses the road, it stops confidently thanks to those responsive anchors.
  • The new TT RS now comes with a seven-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission, as compared to its predecessor that only received six gears. The top speed is still electronically limited to 250km/h, but it takes the coupe 4.3 seconds to do the 0-100km/h sprint, as opposed to 4.6 seconds.
    DOCUMENTED: 22.03.2011 | 18:42 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    The Audi TT RS's Seventh Heaven

    One extra gear for the TT, one big step for fuel efficiency.

    It wasn't long ago when Audi announced the more frugal TT with an efficiency program and gave tips for efficient driving. The TT RS however ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Audi, TT, TT-RS, Coupe, Roadster, TFSI
    • The new TT RS now comes with a seven-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission, as compared to its predecessor that only received six gears. The top speed is still electronically limited to 250km/h, but it takes the coupe 4.3 seconds to do the 0-100km/h sprint, as opposed to 4.6 seconds.
    • With 0.3 seconds shaved, all thanks to the launch control that delivers maximum turbo power and minimum wheel spin off the line and a combined fuel efficiency which has gone down from 9.2 litres of fuel per 100 km to 8.5 litres the new Audi TT RS is certainly a much better preposition than its predecessor. The extra gear is designed for high efficiency at every speed, with the seventh gear configured to have a tall ratio, which reduces the engine's RPM and fuel consumption.
    • Can you really have your cake and eat it too? Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore said,
  • Inside, the interior gets updated with three colour choices and new trim pieces, with the leather seat covers treated to reduce solar heat by as much as 20 degrees Celsius. The new Audi TT also comes with an efficiency program built into its onboard computer, presenting all fuel consumption-relevant data on the central display and gives tips for efficient driving. It also shows consumption of the individual systems in the vehicle, and how they influence fuel consumption.
    DOCUMENTED: 15.02.2011 | 18:01 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    New Audi TT: Faster And Greener

    The coupe's latest incarnation boosts power, sips fuel.

    To achieve these goals, Audi had tweaked its 2.0 TFSI engine and its energy recuperation system that delivers 211hp and 350 Nm of torque wit ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Audi, TT, TT-RS, Coupe, Roadster, TFSI,
    • Inside, the interior gets updated with three colour choices and new trim pieces, with the leather seat covers treated to reduce solar heat by as much as 20 degrees Celsius. The new Audi TT also comes with an efficiency program built into its onboard computer, presenting all fuel consumption-relevant data on the central display and gives tips for efficient driving. It also shows consumption of the individual systems in the vehicle, and how they influence fuel consumption.
    • Mated to a six-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission, it maxes out at 245 km/h, with a 0-100km/h sprint achieved in six seconds. Other than more power, the further-lightened Audi Space Frame technology (ASF) body weighs 100kg less than the competition, tipping the scales at 1,240kg.
    • If you fancy wind in your hair, the TT roadster's cloth roof will come in both manual and automatic versions- the manual version features a central latch for opening and closing the top, while the electro-hydraulic drive opens the optional fully-automatic top in just 12 seconds, even at 50km/h. For the sporty drivers, the RS is set to arrive very soon. We can't wait!
  • DOCUMENTED: 21.08.2010 | 03:44 GMT +8 | 0 COMMENTS

    Grey Hound | Scirocco 2.0TSI

    This monochromatic Scirocco is sleek and quick. With some add-on bits and an MTM Stage 1 tune, it's pretty much all you'll need to 'roc and roll.

    Photos: Syed Ahmad The standard 2-litre turbocharged unit found in the Scirocco is by no means a slouch, but hey, we always want more don ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Volkswagen, Scirocco, Turbo, DSG, Grey
  • Fastest way to have your hair blown dry.
    DOCUMENTED: 09.07.2010 | 01:59 GMT +8 | 5 COMMENTS

    Too fast. Too furious. | Audi TT RS Roadster

    This violently potent four-wheel-drive roadster will leave the road behind you in flames and chew every corner you throw at it. All this, while making you look good.

    Photos: Joel Tam Video: Kel Tay INSPIRED BY AUDI'S legendary Quattro, the TT RS features four-wheel-drive and a five-cylinder turbochar ... MORE

    ARCHIVED IN : Audi, Audi TT, RS, Premium Automobiles, Roadster, Convertible, Video
    • Fastest way to have your hair blown dry.
    • R8-like air vents and grills add to the aggression at the front-end.
    • Distinct chrome exhaust tips on each end are really mouths that will sing when you conduct your 5-cylinder 'quintet' engine.