AUDI ANOTHER NICHE NOTCHED

We guess, having just driven the new third-generation TT, we should have seen a five-door Sportback version coming. We didn’t but a week later it turns up anyway at the Paris show. A crossover style SUV TT is also under development, as previewed by the TT Offroad, and the TT Allroad was shown at Detroit in January.  So a picture of a full TT family is emerging.

The TT Sportback is powered by the 2.0-litre 2.0 TFSI engine, driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. However, in this instance power output is bumped further to 294kW. This means the four-seater should cut out the 0-100 sprint in around 3.9sec, 0.7sec faster than the TTS Coupe. Torque of 450Nm is evidently developed between 2400rpm and 6000rpm. A mean fuel figure of 7.0L/100km is quoted. The extra grunt comes mainly from a new turbocharger that runs up to 1.8bar of boost. Specific output is nigh on 200bhp/litre. 

Underpinning the TT Sportback is the VW group’s steel MQB platform, the wheelbase stretched by 125mm to 2637mm, and overall length up by 290mm to 4470mm. Its height is 27mm lower than that of the TT Coupe at 1380mm. As with the TT Coupe, the doors, bonnet and boot lid are composed of aluminium to reduce overall weight.

Styling features include four frameless doors, the classic TT ‘tornado line’ running front to rear, an A7-like liftback fifth door, twinned oval exhaust pipes, wide wheel arches to fit those 21-inch alloys, and automatic laser and LED headlights. For the interior, the new configurable virtual screen instruments and simplified HVAC controls as in the TT are repeated. The two individual rear seats have integrated headrests, and are divided by an armrest and storage area. They split-fold, like in the TT Coupe, for  added luggage capacity. 

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