The original Audi TT was one of the most enduring style icons of the 1990s. The latest model continues in that vein with performance, style changes and then some

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Walking into the office parking lot towards a horde of gathered people, it was easy to fathom that the awaited Audi TT had arrived. While we had already tested one a couple of years back and even though the current car is just a minor refresh, the TT’s design still causes flutters and sprained necks. At its debut as a concept car in 1995 and finally a production reality, the original Audi TT was one of the most dramatic cars to come out in the mid-to-late 1990s. 

Its organic and symmetrically styled front and rear profiles contrasted with slab-sided flanks to create a look unlike anything Audi had ever done before. In its latest guise, the little sportscar gets a minor face-lift and then some. Stricter emission laws meant the stonking 6-cylinder 3.2-litre engine had to make way for a technology infused four-banger. Will it be enough to do justice to the famed TT mantle or has Audi reduced the TT to a mere showpiece  with all show and no go? Let’s find out…

Making what’s good…better

The original TT was already considered to be one of the best designed cars when it was launched, and Audi managed to make what was already a fantastic design even better with the second generation TT. The current car gets subtle updates which add to the overall demeanour. Subtle changes to the interior and exterior design have been employed to keep the revised model looking fresh. Front bumpers feature larger air inlets, fog lights are set in chrome rings and the front grille and headlights have also been redesigned with twelve white light-emitting diodes serving as the daytime running lights. 

At the rear revised diffuser designs and exhaust pipes make the model nearly two centimetres longer while the width and height remain the same. All said and done, the TT is still the head turner that it always was and has more than enough appeal to stand tall amongst its well designed competition.

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