What's the news?
No sooner have the wraps come off the third-generation TT, including the 310hp TTS, than Audi goes and usurps said range-topper with a 420hp concept version shown alongside it at Geneva: the TT quattro sport. Although you might as well read 'TT RS', as that's almost certainly what this will end up becoming.
Exterior
Like the regular third-gen TT, the quattro sport concept is based on the MQB platform and uses as much lightweight technology as possible to keep the kilos off the Audi's frame. In terms of what's different to the recently-revealed standard car, there's a honeycomb mesh grille and intakes at the front, an imposing front splitter made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), a fixed rear wing and huge, centre-locking 20-inch wheels on semi-slick tyres crammed into the 30mm-wider arches.
There are also side sills and a rear diffuser made from CFRP, rear air outlets in the lower bumper and two large, circular exhaust pipes. Which will presumably split into quads for the RS road-going version...
Interior
We still have the 12.3-inch TFT screen that controls practically everything in the regular TT models, but there the similarities end, as a race track-ready theme abounds. The door panels lose their armrests and speakers, bucket seats with four-point black-and-white contrasting harnesses are to be found in the front, while Alcantara - the most racy of materials, dontcherknow? - is liberally applied to the interior.
There's also a flat-bottomed steering wheel and the luggage compartment of the TT quattro sport concept offers 'space for two racing helmets'.
Mechanicals
It's the EA888 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine under the bonnet again, which seems to be powering everything non-diesel in the Volkswagen Group at the moment. The quattro sport concept shows it off at its most extreme output of 210hp-per-litre, which is more than the same statistic the 2001 Le Mans-winning Audi R18 boasted.
The TT quattro sport concept develops that huge 420hp at 6,700rpm and matches it with 450Nm of torque from 2,400- to 6,300rpm; more than 300Nm is available from just 1,900rpm. It manages to make this massive power with some tweaks to the basic EA888 architecture, here featuring aluminium pistons with integrated cooling channels, an ultra-high strength forged steel crankshaft, a revised cylinder head with an alloy cast crankcase and a new turbo capable of a huge 1.8 bar of boost. Powering just 1,344kg through all four wheels and an S tronic gearbox, the TT quattro sport concept can hit 100km/h from rest in a scant 3.7 seconds.
It has its own bespoke suspension set-up and sits closer to the road than the series production car, with a weight distribution of 54:46 front-to-rear - helped by the quattro drivetrain's clutch being mounted on the rear axle. The TT quattro sport concept also features torque vectoring to help neutralise understeer and improve handling in the corners.
Anything else?
This is supposed to be a track car for the road, so if it does indeed morph into an RS model, it'll need to be toned down a bit.
Allow a leading Audi bod to explain... "With our Audi TT quattro sport concept show car, we wanted to demonstrate what the new TT's technology can do if you take it a step further," explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, board member for technical development. "This car is designed for racing - an extreme driving machine for the motorsports enthusiasts among our customers."