{"id":57610,"date":"2023-05-07T18:54:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T23:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/?p=57610"},"modified":"2025-06-30T04:54:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T09:54:36","slug":"a-timeless-design-icon-the-audi-tt-turns-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/a-timeless-design-icon-the-audi-tt-turns-25","title":{"rendered":"A Timeless Design Icon: The Audi TT Turns 25"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Twenty-five years, three generations: The brand with the four rings wrote design history with the Audi TT. Since its debut in 1998, the sports car has struck a chord with people worldwide thanks to the fun it promises drivers and its clear design language. “Auto Europe” voted it the best new car of the year in 1999.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

In the mid-1990s, the Audi A8 luxury model elevated the Audi brand to a higher position and gradually led to the renaming of the model series: The Audi<\/a> 80 became the Audi A4, and the Audi 100 was dubbed the Audi A6. Introduced in 1994, the Audi A4 was the first model to embody Audi\u2019s new design language. Next was the Audi A3 premium compact car, launched in 1996, and the second generation of the Audi A6, introduced in 1997.<\/p>\n

In the course of emotionalizing the brand through a fresh, progressive design, American designer Freeman Thomas, under the then Head of Design Peter Schreyer, created a puristic sports car in the Audi TT Coup\u00e9. Audi presented the study to an enthusiastic trade show audience at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 1995. The model name \u201cTT\u201d is reminiscent of the legendary Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man, one of the oldest motorsports events in the world and one where NSU and DKW celebrated great successes with their motorcycles. The name \u201cTT\u201d also recalls the sporty NSU TT of the 1960s. The Audi TT Coup\u00e9\u2019s deliberate departure from the usual Audi nomenclature underscored the complete novelty of the model.<\/p>\n

Designer Wenzel: \u201cIn the Audi TT, Every Shape Has a Clear Function\u201d<\/h2>\n

In December 1995, the decision was made to mass-produce the Audi TT Coup\u00e9. Torsten Wenzel, the exterior designer at Audi who helped introduce the study to series production, recalls: \u201cTo us, the greatest praise was when the trade press noted appreciatively that not much had changed from the study to series model, although we did, of course, have to adapt many details due to the technical specifications for the series version, including the proportions.\u201d Most noticeable was the integration of a rear side window, which elongated the car\u2019s profile and increased the sports car\u2019s dynamics. For Wenzel, the Audi TT remains \u201ca driving sculpture, with highest-quality surfaces and lines.\u201d The body of the Audi TT appears to be made from one piece, he says, and the front end without traditional bumper overhangs emphasizes its clear form.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another design element contributes to the unmistakable silhouette of the Audi TT Coup\u00e9: the circle \u2013 \u201cthe perfect graphic shape,\u201d as Wenzel describes it. Numerous circular elements inspired the sports car\u2019s exterior and interior design. Inspired by Bauhaus, every line in the Audi TT has a purpose, every shape a function. \u201cAt Audi Design, we always follow the philosophy of \u2018less is more\u2019. Bringing out the Audi TT Coup\u00e9\u2019s unique character by reducing it to the essentials was a challenging and special undertaking for us designers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Anniversaries in One Year: Audi Hungaria Celebrates Alongside the Audi TT<\/h2>\n

In 1998, series production of the Audi TT Coup\u00e9 began. One year later, Audi launched the TT Roadster. Like the show car and the Audi A3 launched in 1996, the sports car was based on the transverse engine platform of the VW Golf IV. From the outset, the TT was produced by Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. in Hungary. The painted TT bodies were transported overnight by rail from Ingolstadt to Gy\u0151r, where the final assembly took place. This method of cross-site production between Ingolstadt and Gy\u0151r was unique in the automotive industry at the time. Audi Hungaria, a wholly owned subsidiary of AUDI AG, is also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023. Founded in February 1993, originally as an engine manufacturing plant only, Audi Hungaria took over the assembly of the Audi TT in 1998 in cooperation with the Ingolstadt plant. In 2013, the company evolved into a full-fledged automotive plant. Since its foundation, Audi Hungaria has built more than 43 million engines and nearly two million vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The range of engines in the first-generation Audi TT was broad and naturally always sporty. The first-generation TT, for example, came with four-cylinder turbo engines with a power spectrum from 150 to 225 PS and a V6 unit with 250 PS. A highlight of the engine range was the four-cylinder in the Audi TT quattro Sport which was boosted to 240 PS, and 1,168 units were delivered. First-generation TT customers had plenty of choices when it came to selecting special equipment.<\/p>\n

In addition to exclusive colors such as Papaya Orange or Nogaro Blue, customers could equip the TT with factory-fitted special accessories. For example, the \u201cbaseball glove\u201d design for the leather seats in the Audi TT Roadster, originally an eye-catcher in the show car, transitioned to series production. Over eight production years, 178,765 first-generation Audi TT Coup\u00e9s (Type 8N) rolled off the production line by mid-2006. Exactly 90,733 Audi TT Roadsters were built between 1999 and 2006.<\/p>\n

TT Portfolio Expands to Include RS Versions in the Second Generation<\/h2>\n

In the following two generations, the designers held to \u201creduction to the essentials\u201d as the dominant design principle, which is made evident, for example, in the minimalist design of the exterior and the sleek, driver-oriented interior. The round shape, and the circular motif, remained typical of the TT portfolio and were unifying elements in the exterior and interior design. For example, in the aluminum fuel tank cap, the round air vents, the gearshift edging, and the distinctive gear knob.<\/p>\n

The second-generation TT was launched in 2006 (Coup\u00e9) and 2007 (Roadster) and was based on the platform of the second-generation Audi A3. Adaptive dampers with Audi magnetic ride were used for the first time. Available as an option, this technology continuously adapts the shock absorbers to the profile of the road and the driver\u2019s individual style. In 2008, the TTS sports model was launched with a 2-liter turbo engine and 272 PS, followed a year later by the TT RS with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine with 340 PS and 360 PS in the Audi TT RS plus. In 2008, the brand with the four rings launched the TT 2.0 TDI quattro \u2013 the world\u2019s first production sports car to run on a diesel engine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The third generation of the Audi TT was launched in 2014 \u2013 and once again, Audi used the new generation to reduce its weight. The TT Coup\u00e9, with a 2.0 TFSI1\u00a0engine and manual transmission, weighed only 1,230 kilograms, up to 50 kilograms lighter than before. For the new TT\u00a0and\u00a0TT RS2, 3, the designers reinterpreted the unmistakable lines of the original TT from 1998 for the modern age. They enriched them with numerous dynamic facets, while the round fuel tank cap with typical TT lettering remained true across the generations. Many profile details also deliberately recalled the first-generation design classic.<\/p>\n

In technical terms, the third-generation TT offered several innovations. For example, this model marked the debut of the Audi virtual cockpit, a fully digital instrument panel with highly detailed, versatile displays that replaced analog instruments and the MMI monitor. In 2016, a new era for automotive lighting technology began in the Audi TT RS, when Audi used organic LEDs, known as OLED technology, for the first time.<\/p>\n

The sports car\u2019s engine range is also impressive: The top model was initially the Audi TTS4\u00a0with a 2-liter turbo engine and 310 PS, followed in 2016 by the TT RS2, 3\u00a0with the 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine, one of the most emotional units the brand with the four rings has to offer. With its 400 PS, this engine boasted a sporty sound and, on top of that, was named \u201cInternational Engine of the Year\u201d nine times in a row. With the special Audi TT RS Coup\u00e9\u00a0iconic edition5\u00a0model, which comes in Nardo Gray and is limited to 100 units, Audi is bringing together the design and technology highlights from a quarter of a century of the Audi TT to celebrate this anniversary year of 2023.<\/p>\n

Gallery<\/h2>\n