TT-RS & RS5 boost Audi’s performance division

• Audi is targeting the performance divisions of BMW and Mercedes-Benz by expanding its own RS range with the most powerful versions yet of its TT and A5 coupes.

  Audi will abandon its current policy of producing only one RS model at a time to unveil the TT-RS in early 2009, with the RS5 expected to follow within 12 months.

  The two coupes will multiply Audi’s RS line-up to turn it into a genuine rival for the BMW M and Mercedes-Benz AMG performance arms. They will join the $270,000 twin-turbo V10 Audi RS6 wagon that has just launched in Australia (sedan version arrives early 2009).

  Audi’s current fastest TT – the 200kW 2.0-litre turbo TT-S – sprints from 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds but will be eclipsed by the RS version that will cut the standard sprint to 4.5 seconds.

  The TT-RS will become a rival for BMW’s $127,500 Z4 M Coupe and Porsche’s $149,000 Cayman S.

  Like the $93,000 Audi TT-S, it will be available in both coupe and roadster guises and boast a rear-drive-biased quattro all-wheel-drive system. Audi insiders, though, confirm power will come from a new direct-injection 2.5-litre five-cylinder ‘twincharger’ engine that will be both turbocharged and supercharged for 246kW and 450Nm.

  It will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, while Audi’s new seven-speed S-tronic twin-clutch (with computer-controlled clutches) transmission should be available as an option.

  Fuel consumption will be kept below 10.0L/100km despite the TT-RS’s large power and torque outputs.

  Audi no longer produces five-cylinder engines, so the source is the US-market Jetta produced by sister company Volkswagen. It’s a fitting engine, however, considering five-cylinders were used for both the acknowledged father of the RS models – the 1980 Audi Quattro – as well as the very first RS vehicle – the 1993 RS2 Avant.

  As our spy pictures also reveal, the more powerful TT will feature the traditional RS black honeycomb grille (the TT-S has the chrome cross-hatch grille synonymous with Audi’s S badge).

  The TT-RS’s front bumper also has a reprofiled front aero splitter below the grille for increased downforce, flanked by even larger side air intakes for improved brake cooling.

  Our secret photos of the Audi TT-RS testing at Germany’s Nurburgring also show RS-style dual oval exhaust pipes, sitting in what will be a new-look rear diffuser (the TT-S has quad exhaust pipes).

  Audi is also putting a third-generation RS4 on hold to focus instead on a flagship version of its A5 coupe that has been a sales success for the brand in 2007.

  The German car maker has already released details of its new S4 sedan that shares its platform with the new RS5.

  While the S4 places a 245kW supercharged 3.0-litre V6 under its bonnet, the RS5 is expected to bolt two turbochargers to the discontinued RS4’s 4.2-litre V8 – to generate 330kW (21kW more than the rival BMW M3 coupe).

  The RS5 will also come standard with Audi’s new trick rear differential that will be optional on the S4. While the quattro all-wheel-drive system apportions torque between the front and rear axles, the new differential distributes torque between the rear wheels to improve stability through corners.

  The system is similar to the ones employed by the Saab Turbo X and BMW X6, sending more torque to the outside rear wheel to help push the car through a corner.

  The Audi TT-RS and RS5 are both being developed by quattro GmbH, the Audi off-shoot company responsible for the car maker’s high-performance cars including the flagship R8 supercar.

  A new V10-powered variant of the R8 is also due to launch in 2009, though it’s not clear whether this would adopt an RS badge. An RS8 moniker would be potentially confusing, suggesting the model was a high-performance version of the company’s A8 limousine.

  The R8 will also be launched as a Spyder model in the near future, while an RS5 convertible is also on the cards because Audi is producing an A5 Cabriolet – as well as an A5 Sportback (essentially a sloping-roofed, five-door version of the A4). The last RS4 was produced in both sedan and convertible forms.

  Audi is expanding its RS line-up because models such as the TT-RS and RS5 are the type of niche models the German car maker has admitted it needs to reach its goal of becoming the world’s number one premium brand by 2015.

  The company is investing 7.9 billion Euros ($15b) in new products between 2008 and 2012, increasing its model count from 25 to 40.

  The new RS models, however, are also designed to further showcase Audi as a progressive and premium car brand.

  The company isn’t yet ready to confirm officially the TT-RS and RS5, though at the local launch of the new RS6 Avant, Audi Australia’s marketing boss, Immo Buschmann, admitted the company was exploring further RS models.

  “We’re currently looking at the market to see if there’s demand to broaden the RS portfolio,” says Buschmann. “The reason why we have focused on one car is that we wanted a certain level of exclusivity.

  “But you always have to look at the demand in that high-performance segment. Now that the market is growing, our competitors are now looking at more cars in that high-performance segment.

  “We at the moment believe that having one RS model is good enough. [But] moving forward, probably we will have to react to market demand.”

  Audi’s first RS model was the RS2 Avant introduced in 1993 and developed in conjunction with Porsche.

  Its successor, the first-generation RS4, arrived in 2000 and stopped production in 2001 in what has become a traditional short model cycle for Audi’s RS models.

  This was followed by the first RS6 in 2002, the second RS4 in 2005, and the latest RS6 in 2008.

Audi is targeting the performance divisions of BMW and Mercedes-Benz by expanding its own RS range with the most powerful versions yet of its TT and A5 coupes.

Audi will abandon its current policy of producing only one RS model at a time to unveil the TT-RS in early 2009, with the RS5 expected to follow within 12 months.

The two coupes will multiply Audi’s RS line-up to turn it into a genuine rival for the BMW M and Mercedes-Benz AMG performance arms. They will join the $270,000 twin-turbo V10 Audi RS6 wagon that has just launched in Australia (sedan version arrives early 2009).

Audi’s current fastest TT – the 200kW 2.0-litre turbo TT-S – sprints from 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds but will be eclipsed by the RS version that will cut the standard sprint to 4.5 seconds.

The TT-RS will become a rival for BMW’s $127,500 Z4 M Coupe and Porsche’s $149,000 Cayman S.

Like the $93,000 Audi TT-S, it will be available in both coupe and roadster guises and boast a rear-drive-biased quattro all-wheel-drive system. Audi insiders, though, confirm power will come from a new direct-injection 2.5-litre five-cylinder ‘twincharger’ engine that will be both turbocharged and supercharged for 246kW and 450Nm.

It will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, while Audi’s new seven-speed S-tronic twin-clutch (with computer-controlled clutches) transmission should be available as an option.

Fuel consumption will be kept below 10.0L/100km despite the TT-RS’s large power and torque outputs.

Audi no longer produces five-cylinder engines, so the source is the US-market Jetta produced by sister company Volkswagen. It’s a fitting engine, however, considering five-cylinders were used for both the acknowledged father of the RS models – the 1980 Audi Quattro – as well as the very first RS vehicle – the 1993 RS2 Avant.

As our spy pictures also reveal, the more powerful TT will feature the traditional RS black honeycomb grille (the TT-S has the chrome cross-hatch grille synonymous with Audi’s S badge).

The TT-RS’s front bumper also has a reprofiled front aero splitter below the grille for increased downforce, flanked by even larger side air intakes for improved brake cooling.

Our secret photos of the Audi TT-RS testing at Germany’s Nurburgring also show RS-style dual oval exhaust pipes, sitting in what will be a new-look rear diffuser (the TT-S has quad exhaust pipes).

Audi is also putting a third-generation RS4 on hold to focus instead on a flagship version of its A5 coupe that has been a sales success for the brand in 2007.

The German car maker has already released details of its new S4 sedan that shares its platform with the new RS5.

While the S4 places a 245kW supercharged 3.0-litre V6 under its bonnet, the RS5 is expected to bolt two turbochargers to the discontinued RS4’s 4.2-litre V8 – to generate 330kW (21kW more than the rival BMW M3 coupe).

The RS5 will also come standard with Audi’s new trick rear differential that will be optional on the S4. While the quattro all-wheel-drive system apportions torque between the front and rear axles, the new differential distributes torque between the rear wheels to improve stability through corners.

The system is similar to the ones employed by the Saab Turbo X and BMW X6, sending more torque to the outside rear wheel to help push the car through a corner.

The Audi TT-RS and RS5 are both being developed by quattro GmbH, the Audi off-shoot company responsible for the car maker’s high-performance cars including the flagship R8 supercar.

A new V10-powered variant of the R8 is also due to launch in 2009, though it’s not clear whether this would adopt an RS badge. An RS8 moniker would be potentially confusing, suggesting the model was a high-performance version of the company’s A8 limousine.

The R8 will also be launched as a Spyder model in the near future, while an RS5 convertible is also on the cards because Audi is producing an A5 Cabriolet – as well as an A5 Sportback (essentially a sloping-roofed, five-door version of the A4). The last RS4 was produced in both sedan and convertible forms.

Audi is expanding its RS line-up because models such as the TT-RS and RS5 are the type of niche models the German car maker has admitted it needs to reach its goal of becoming the world’s number one premium brand by 2015.

The company is investing 7.9 billion Euros ($15b) in new products between 2008 and 2012, increasing its model count from 25 to 40.

The new RS models, however, are also designed to further showcase Audi as a progressive and premium car brand.

The company isn’t yet ready to confirm officially the TT-RS and RS5, though at the local launch of the new RS6 Avant, Audi Australia’s marketing boss, Immo Buschmann, admitted the company was exploring further RS models.

“We’re currently looking at the market to see if there’s demand to broaden the RS portfolio,” says Buschmann. “The reason why we have focused on one car is that we wanted a certain level of exclusivity.

“But you always have to look at the demand in that high-performance segment. Now that the market is growing, our competitors are now looking at more cars in that high-performance segment.

“We at the moment believe that having one RS model is good enough. [But] moving forward, probably we will have to react to market demand.”

Audi’s first RS model was the RS2 Avant introduced in 1993 and developed in conjunction with Porsche.

Its successor, the first-generation RS4, arrived in 2000 and stopped production in 2001 in what has become a traditional short model cycle for Audi’s RS models.

This was followed by the first RS6 in 2002, the second RS4 in 2005, and the latest RS6 in 2008.