Seeing as we're playing with TTs this week, I thought I'd take a bit of inspiration from Rob's OnlyFans R8 and create... an R18 TT!
As far as hairdressers' cars go, one would be hard pressed to find a car that fits the bill as well as an Audi TT. It's always struck me as a "poor man's R8"—a car for someone who wants an exotic badge to appear rich, but doesn't quite have R8 money. But, while other hairdressers' cars, such as a modern Mini or an MR-S at least have the looks to be a hairdressers' car, the TT I've always found to be a disproportionate, ugly, and way too shouty with nothing to really shout about. Add to that an AWD system and a 3.2L VR6 that was shoved in seemingly without much thought, and, really, what else could one reasonably expect from this 1,520kg (3,351lbs) car but chronic, neverending understeer?
That's what I thought prior to driving the car, anyway. Once in, however, the car I found is somehow, shockingly balanced, even with a V6 that displaces almost twice as much as the Inline 4 that used to be where it is. Said balance in conjunction with the short wheelbase of the car and a delightfully responsive steering made the TT a car that is surprisingly "chuckable" into a corner. In fact, because the suspension setup is really rather soft up front, the front end will lift into understeer heights if you ask too much too soon from the responsive, torquey NA VR6, which in turn means that you're best served compensating for that with a hint of a slip angle into the apex of a corner—something the car is more than delighted to do with the aforementioned soft setup breaking grip on the rear end under hard braking, with the quattro AWD system making sure you're never really in much danger of a wipeout that would result in a complete write off. And speaking of the brakes, the car stops really well especially when considering its soft setup and mass, not to mention the 6 speed DSG feels simply magical in how quickly and seamlessly it shifts, even for a modern car, let alone one that's nearing twenty years old at this point.
I'm very surprised to say that I really don't have any major complaints against the 3.2 TT at all, only nitpicks. The suspension setup is, again, a bit too soft for my liking, and the car's looks really haven't grown on me a single bit the entire week. The gearing is a little... odd. The final gear ratio is set delectably low to facilitate strong acceleration, but third feels completely lost in an ocean in between second and fourth, with upshifts into third and fourth dropping the engine just out of the meat of its powerband. It's a small annoyance in mid speed corner exits, but it will completely halt any attempts at a graceful powerslide out of a corner on dirt if you for some insane reason feel the urge to bring your quattro badged car rallying, which is all the more a shame given how immediate and "free" gear changes in this thing are.
At nearly 60k Credits and not even offering 250HP on tap for that, the TT does seem like awful value for money. The rational side of me even wants to say that enthusiasts are better catered to with a much more practical, powerful, and cheaper Evo and Impreza, but I really don't think the turbocharged four door rally cars can really offer that feeling of instant, abundant torque of a NA V6, the instant, magical gear changes, nor the TT's immaculate rotation into a corner thanks to its short wheelbase. It may never be a logical buy, but as a sports car, something that's inherently illogical, it's a pretty damn good one. One that carves out a sufficient niche for itself, and one that will properly surprise even petrolheads with how good it is. It even feels great on dirt! Even though the racing was slightly chaotic this week, I still had a lot of fun with it. A part of me still can't get over how pleasantly surprised I am by the TT this week, and I therefore reckon it's a sleeper!
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