Much loved five-cylinder configuration is retained in the latest Audi Sport flagship delivering supercar-style pace with quattro adhesion

• Most powerful TT ever to enter series production set to open for UK order in late September – Coupé priced at £51,800 OTR, Roadster at £53,550 OTR
• Five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI linked to a seven-speed S tronic transmission produces 400PS and 480Nm between 1,700 and 5,850rpm
• Power-to-weight 277PS per ton, 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds (Roadster 3.9 seconds), potential top speed of 174mph (with optional package), up to 34.4mpg, CO2 from 187g/km
• TT RS is the first series production Audi available with OLED rear lights

Character-building five-cylinder power continues to be the lifeblood of the Audi TT RS, which can be ordered in the UK from late September in all-new, 400PS form priced from £51,800 OTR and will touch down here in November. Available as before in Coupé and Roadster form, the most powerful series production TT to date merits comparison with the supercar elite with its sub-four-second acceleration capability and potential 174mph top speed, and offers a similarly exclusive specification that fittingly also brings the option of new Audi Matrix OLED lighting technology on stream for the first time.

Lighter than its predecessor by 26kg, thanks in large part to the integration of an aluminium crankcase, the newly developed five-cylinder, 2.5-litre TFSI engine with dual injection and Audi Valvelift technology brings to bear a 17 per cent increase in performance in the latest TT RS.

The considerable uplift in power and torque - from 340PS in the outgoing ‘standard’ car to 400PS and from 450Nm to 480Nm - facilitates a searing 0-62mph sprint time of 3.7 seconds (Roadster 3.9 seconds) on the way to a governed top speed of 155mph.

This peak can be raised to 174mph if the optional Dynamic Package Plus is specified. The cost-effective package also includes a sports exhaust system which helps to further distil the very essence of this car, namely its addictively offbeat five-cylinder engine note.

In the interest of performance the weight of the seven-speed S tronic transmission which deftly manages the engine’s formidable output has also been reduced by around 2kg thanks to a new angle drive to the prop shaft. Its shift characteristics can be tailored to the driver’s requirements via the Audi Drive Select adaptive dynamics system, which offers Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual modes. These also have a bearing on the operating parameters of the RS-specific progressive steering, the throttle, the exhaust flaps and the quattro all-wheel drive system.

In the TT RS quattro takes the form of a multi-plate clutch-based system capable of freely distributing power between the axles for incisive, high-grip handling. It works with wheel-selective torque control which also favours agility, and with an elaborate suspension configuration that firmly affixes the car to the road without compromising its innate adjustability.

Optional Audi magnetic ride

The body of the TT RS sits ten millimetres lower than the entry level TT, and this also applies when the Dynamic Package incorporating RS sport suspension plus with Audi magnetic ride is specified. Employing special dampers filled with synthetic oil in which magnetic particles that can be influenced by a magnetic field are suspended, Audi magnetic ride is able to adapt the damper’s operating characteristic to the profile of the road and style of the driver at millisecond intervals. It is another feature that can be modulated using the onboard Audi Drive Select system.

The lowered body ensures that the standard 19-inch cast wheels with their five-arm polygon design fill their arches even more amply. They are available in either silver, matt titanium look or gloss anthracite black finishes, as are the 20-inch 7-spoke rotor design alternatives which are exclusively available on the TT RS as an option.

Within the impactful wheels are fittingly forceful brakes, the front internally ventilated, perforated steel discs with eight-piston calipers measuring 370 millimetres in diameter and the monobloc discs at the rear 310mm. Stainless steel pins join the friction ring to the aluminium brake disc chambers to dissipate the heat quickly. Carbon ceramic front discs which are particularly abrasion-resistant and light are available as an option for especially committed drivers.

Assertively aerodynamic

The intense concentration of power that all these features help to harness warrants a raft of special exterior applications which clearly define the TT RS as the front-runner in the TT line-up, and also help the car to cleanly pierce the air with an impressive 0.32 or 0.33 cd value depending on version. Standout features include the large air inlets, a Singleframe grille with a newly designed honeycomb lattice and quattro logo, aerodynamically-shaped side sills and of course a fixed rear wing sitting on two thin double struts. Owners keen to play down the performance potential at their disposal can swap this for the automatically extending spoiler familiar from the ‘mainstream’ TT models if required. Beneath this is a striking bumper with a strongly profiled diffuser insert with four vertical fins flanked by the large bore elliptical tailpipes of the RS exhaust system.

The stocky body can be specified in a choice of nine ‘standard’ colours, including the RS-specific tones Nardo grey and Catalunya red, metallic. In addition to this, numerous customised paint finishes are available through the Audi exclusive programme. All can be combined with optional matt aluminium and gloss black styling packages which soften or darken the look of the Singleframe grille surround, RS rear spoiler blade and diffuser insert.

Inside, the super sports seats upholstered in Fine Nappa leather and the TT RS sport leather and Alcantara steering wheel with its new integral ‘satellite’ buttons for engine start/stop and Audi Drive Select functions are the first to grab attention. From the comfort of the driving seat the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with its 12.3-inch high definition also quickly makes its presence felt – it provides a choice of three views, including a special RS screen that highlights the rev counter and provides additional performance data plus a shift light which informs the driver when the rev limit has been reached. Upon request, the RS screen can also display individual tyre pressures.

The virtual cockpit displays mapping from the MMI navigation plus system which is standard for UK TT RS models in full ‘wide screen’ format. It also serves as the interface for the Audi Connect online services which are included as standard on a three-year subscription basis and can be extended at the end of the term. Highlights of Audi Connect include Google Earth mapping and Google Street View, online weather updates, travel information and news, access to Twitter and integration of a Wi-Fi hotspot for in-car web browsing on personal devices.

Key technology options include the Audi phone box, which enables compatible mobile phones to be charged inductively and paired with the onboard antennae for optimal reception, and the new Audi smartphone interface displaying selected apps from a user’s handset directly in the Audi virtual cockpit. The Bang & Olufsen sound system is another highlight for fans of excellent acoustics.

New feature: Matrix OLED lights

Another milestone technological development is also available to enhance the exterior of the TT RS. It can be specified with Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) rear lights which make their Audi series production debut here. These advanced new lamps in 3D design comprise four wafer-thin units, the largest of which bears the TT logo and the four Audi rings. They emit an extremely homogeneous, high-contrast light which can be continuously dimmed, does not cast any shadows and does not require any reflectors, making them both efficient and visually impressive.

The new Matrix OLED units are available as an alternative to the ‘standard’ LED rear lamps with their dynamic rear indicators, and in a similar vein the standard LED headlights can also be replaced on request by Matrix LED lamps containing 12 separate controllable LEDs which form the high beam and can be individually shut off when sensors detect traffic ahead or approaching, to ‘divert’ their beam around other road users.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk

Evocative Audi powerplant celebrated for its mighty on-road performance and significant motorsport success reaches a historical milestone.

• Five-cylinder engine delivering 136PS presented for the first time in 1976 in the Audi 100
• Highly successful engine concept for series production and rallying

• 2.5 TFSI voted “Engine of the Year” seven times in a row since 2010
• All-new TT RS continues to be powered by five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI, now producing 400PS and 480Nm

Ingolstadt, August 30, 2016 – 40 years ago, Audi presented the first five-cylinder petrol engine in the second-generation Audi 100. Enhancements and new developments followed, with turbocharging, emissions control and four-valve technology, rally engines and five-cylinder diesel units. Today, the 2.5 TFSI in the Audi TT RS Coupé and Roadster carries on the great tradition of five-cylinder powerplants.

The five-cylinder engines from Audi have achieved cult status – partly due to their successful deployment in motorsport and also on account of their reliability and economy. They have played a vital role in defining Vorsprung durch Technik and to this day provide an emotional driving experience with their characteristic sound.

The first five-cylinder petrol engine powered the Audi 100 (C2) in 1976. The model, known internally as Type 43, was to be positioned higher than its predecessor in the market. The four-cylinder engines at the time were not suitable for this plan according to the developers. At the beginning of the 1970s, Audi engineers consequently discussed the possibility of introducing five and six-cylinder inline engines. The latter were ruled out due to the installation space required and unfavourable weight distribution. So those responsible opted for the five-cylinder inline engine, based on the new EA 827 engine concept.

This four-cylinder inline engine was used throughout the VW Group in the 1970s – in the Audi 80 and Audi 100, for instance. The derived 2.1-liter five-cylinder engine produced 136PS. A modern injection system increased efficiency and power development. Delivery of the Audi 100 5E began in March 1977.

As early as 1978, Audi presented the first diesel version: a naturally aspirated diesel with a displacement of two litres and producing 70PS. One year later, the first turbocharged five-cylinder petrol engine made its debut – another pioneering feat from Audi. With an output of 170PS and 265 newton metres (195.45 lb-ft) of torque, it powered the new top model, the Audi 200 5T. The five-cylinder petrol engine in the 1980 Audi “Ur-quattro” had even more to offer.

With turbocharging, an intercooler and permanent four-wheel drive, it constituted a powerful technical package for the racetrack and the road. Initially, it delivered 200PS. In 1983, the Finn Hannu Mikkola won the drivers’ title in the World Rally Championship in this car. In the same year, Audi introduced the wide-track Sport quattro, which was 24 centimetres (9.45 inches) shorter. It was powered by a newly developed four-valve five-cylinder unit made of aluminium with an output of 306PS. It made the Sport quattro the most powerful car built to date by a German company for use on public roads. The model formed the basis for a new Group B rally car, with the four-valve powerplant delivering 450PS from the very start. It was used for the first time in the penultimate race of 1984, the Ivory Coast rally. The other eleven rounds of the season were contested by the Swede Stig Blomqvist in the Group B Audi quattro A2 producing 360PS. In the end, he won the drivers’ title and Audi took the manufacturers’ title.

Even after Audi withdrew from rallying in 1986 there were other racing highlights: in 1987, Walter Röhrl won the Pikes Peak Hill Climb (USA) in the Audi Sport quattro S1 (E2). The racing car developed 598PS. And the IMSA GTO excelled on the US touring car scene in 1989, delivering 720PS – from little more than two litres of displacement.

Audi presented another milestone in automotive history at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main in 1989: the Audi 100 TDI. It was the first production car with a five-cylinder direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine and fully electronic control. The powerplant generated 120PS from a displacement of 2.5 litres. Audi continued to refine its range of five-cylinder petrol engines. In 1994, the Audi RS 2 with an output of 315PS came on to the market. As an Avant with the power of a sports car, it established a new automotive class.

1994 saw the five-cylinder units bow out of the B segment, when the Audi A4 (B5) was introduced. They were gradually replaced in the mid-1990s by the new V6 engines. The last five-cylinder engines, the 2.5 TDI in the Audi A6 and the 2.3 Turbo in the Audi S6, were phased out in 1997.

Then in 2009 there was a big comeback – with turbocharging and petrol direct injection in the Audi TT RS. The transverse-mounted engine developed by quattro GmbH produced 340PS from a displacement of 2.5 litres. It also offered outstanding performance in the RS 3 Sportback and in the RS Q3. The TT RS plus, which Audi presented in 2012, mustered up an impressive 360PS. Today, the 2.5 TFSI in the Audi TT RS produces 400PS. An international jury of motoring journalists has voted the five-cylinder powerplant “Engine of the Year” seven times in a row since 2010.

Those who would like to see the first Audi with a five-cylinder engine can currently do so at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm. The classic car exhibition entitled “From zero to 100” features numerous exhibits, which Audi uses to look back at the eventful history of its successful model. One of the first five-cylinder TDI units from a 1989 Audi 100 is also on display. The exhibition runs until November 6, 2016.

Article source: www.audi.co.uk

Audi g-tron unites ecology, economy and high-tech in groundbreaking fashion.

Not only can the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron use fossil natural gas and biomethane, it also runs on eco-friendly Audi e-gas, which Audi produces from wind energy at the world’s first ever industrial power-to-gas plant in Wertle in Emsland in the German state of Lower Saxony. This cutting-edge technology enables fluctuating energy sources such as wind and solar power to be stored on a large scale for the first time – a vital step forward for increasing renewable electricity, which is also good news when it comes to recharging the A3 e-tron, the sister model of the A3 g-tron.

The Audi A3 Sportback g-tron is equipped with an 81 kW (110 bhp) petrol engine that has been optimised for operation with natural gas, and is the first ever CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) car to be manufactured in series by the brand with the four rings. It has a bi-fuel design and is able to cover a distance of over 400 kilometres on a single tank of gas thanks to its low consumption of 3.2–3.3 kg/100 km on the NEDC cycle, and a further 900 kilometres on petrol power when no CNG filling stations are available. Running the A3 g-tron on Audi e-gas enables virtually CO2-neutral operation.

Audi e-gas is a synthetic methane gas that is manufactured using hydrogen produced by electrolysis and CO2 extracted from the exhaust-gas flow of a waste biogas plant. When Audi e-gas is produced using green electricity, exactly the same quantity of CO2 is absorbed as the Audi A3 g-tron releases in gas mode. Consequently, an A3 Sportback g-tron refuelled with Audi e-gas currently represents the most eco-friendly form of long-distance mobility.

Article source: www.audi.com