The Autumn of Its Years: The Mk 2 TT Goes Out in Style

Words and Photos By Robert S. Schultz

The autumn leaves drift by my windshield and the quad exhausts steam like a Starbucks Grande in the cold air. Late fall is a time for reflective glances, and Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “It Was a Very Good Year” comes to mind. Ever cool, never sentimental, Sinatra reminisces on “vintage” moments from the wry perspective of the later years in life. Could the Chairman be singing the theme song for the Audi TT? Indeed, “the days grow short”—for both the season and the second-generation TT. With the Mk 3 TT already in production, the timing seems right to pay a little retrospective homage to the present model.

1 of 500

The years to come will judge if the Mk 2 TT will be considered a vintage Audi worthy of collecting, but our subject car is certainly rare. It is a 2015 TTS with the Competition package. A car that wasn’t supposed to be in the U.S. at all. Audi AG announced the limited edition in August of 2013 to commemorate production of the 500,000^th TT, indicating that 500 examples would be manufactured with none designated for the U.S. Nevertheless, a handful found their way here—51 coupes and 15 roadsters to be exact, says Audi of America.

Visually, the Competition package is a winner. The car is painted in TT-heritage Nimbus Gray pearl (the color was also offered on the 2013 TT RS Final Edition, but looked a shade off) with a fixed rear wing and 19-inch silver, 5-arm-Rotor design wheels. Inside, it is upholstered in bespoke Steel Gray leather with yellow contrast stitching in the baseball optic pattern that has become a TT signature. Imola Yellow exterior paint was also available in even more limited numbers. Apart from the trim distinctions, the car is identical to the TTS that was last updated in 2011.

Cynics may content that Audi was just using up leftover parts from TT RS production (rear spoiler and rotor wheels). Regardless, the Competition package feels very special and even elicits thumbs-up from Harley-Davidson riders (so much for the hairdressers’ car stereotype). It’s quite a value, too, at $2500. That’s the cost of an Audi exclusive paint color alone, to say nothing of the extras included in this package.

Globally, the production of 2015 model year TTs may represent Audi’s attempt to eliminate the year-long gap that occurred in 2007 between the Mk 1 and Mk 2 cars. With about six months to wait before the U.S. launch of the 2016 TT, though, it looks like the Mk 2 is going to sell out. As of this writing, there are only a few dozen TTs in dealer inventory in the entire country. Remarkably, the outgoing model still has its devotees.

An old new car

The Mk 2 will have been around for seven years by the time its replacement arrives, however, and in car years, seven is a long life span. The supercharged advance of technology ages cars quickly now. By this measure, our new 2015 TTS is an old car and beginning to show its age.

The magnetic ride suspension, a first-gen system, feels marginally harsh in normal mode, and the “S” in sport mode might as well stand for sadomasochistic. A touch of suppleness (as the S5 offers) would be most welcome because this version of mag ride just isn’t tuned for the pavement irregularities of the asphalt jungle. The 35-series tires, which also factor into the stiff ride, produce a constant din. There’s old-school turbo lag in abundance, further magnified by the S tronic transmission in Drive prematurely up-shifting before the turbo reaches full boost. And the DVD-based navigation system was outdated from the start, and only minimally improved with a higher-resolution screen and faster processor for the 2010 model year. The old electronics architecture also precludes the availability of conveniences like the Audi Advanced key and Audi connect. The TT is in good company, however, as the R8 shares the same misery.

By now, almost every enthusiast web site and auto pub has posted an initial review of the Mk 3 TT and it’s evident that the new model addresses most of the current shortcomings. Notably, the Mk 3 is the first TT where the chassis, engines, and infotainment all come off the starting grid at the same point on the developmental cycle.

You’re Involved in This

But let’s not shuffle the Mk 2 TT off to the senior center just yet. Among its redeeming qualities is that it invites and rewards driver involvement. More like demands it to unlock the car’s full S-level potential. Slot the S tronic in Manual or Sport and make turbo lag disappear, fast, with shifts that deliver a pronounced kick. Where the base engine—with identical torque to the TTS mill—runs out of breath on the rpm band, the TTS inhales deep lungfuls of air to keep pulling.

For the stiff arm the TTS suspension gives city streets, it corners flat and controlled on rustic roads, teasing you to switch to the Sport setting. The older electromechanical steering feels direct and alive, and avoids the numb, disconnected, on-center sensation of some of Audi’s latest cars. Larger brakes on the TTS scrub off speed with a stout pedal and linear response. And while the Mk 2 TT does not coddle you in luxury or dazzle you with mega-pixel graphics, the form and function of its driver-centric cockpit remain as fresh as when it debuted. You don’t so much sit in the TT as put it on, like body-conforming performance wear, to gear up for a driving experience that’s equally athletic.

The styling of the first-generation TT was polarizing, as befitting a breakthrough concept. The Mk 2 TT, in contrast, has never been able to escape the stigma of being the sequel to an icon. It evolved the strict geometry of the Mk 1 into softer, more fluid sculpting that did not find favor with purists. The C-pillar is perhaps its weakest feature, blending the roofline into the rear deck as a continuous sweep instead of the sharp, laser-welded seam on the original. In rear three-quarter view the Mk 2 can look a bit truncated and rotund as a result. Fixed rear wings may not be to everyone’s liking, but on our TTS the spoiler puts a fine edge on the rounded rump to good effect (as it did on  the RS model as well).

Still, the TT sits squat and square and has real street presence, particularly in motion. The mid-cycle styling updates to the TTS and S line variants—“toothed” grille, front splitter, side sill extensions, and rear exhaust valence—introduced a more aggressive stance that some in-the-know Audiphiles claim was meant to be a part of the Mk 2 design from the beginning.

Best of the Last

The Competition package is like a wine blend, combining the best of several varietals to create a distinctive but harmonious whole, in this case a release that is arguably the most appealing TT of its generation. The Mk 2 contributes the standard TTS body parts and builds from there. The aluminum-look bits—grille slats, fog light surrounds, mirror housings, spoiler brackets, gas cap cover and alloy wheels—can appear flashy on some Audi S models but on the Competition TTS they merely accent the sportiness. The matte aluminum especially complements the Nimbus gray paint, a legacy color that harks back to the very first U.S. TT, the Neiman Marcus limited edition 2000 TT. The gray and yellow upholstery, exclusive to this package, considerably brightens the otherwise somber, if sophisticated, interior. A thicker steering wheel sports deeper thumb recesses and yellow cross-stitching as well. And the fixed rear spoiler adds the “finishing” touch, literally: though Audi did not call the Competition package a model build-out, it’s among the last Mk 2 TTs made and concludes the series in style.

The Mk 2 TT never reached its stride in the U.S., a casualty of cautious styling, the recession, and familial competition from the A5/S5 introduced at the same time. Its low sales volumes reflected as much. But at the grape harvest in fall, some vineyards yield only a few barrels of wine that become valued for their scarcity or character. The second-generation TT may not attain such status, but TT connoisseurs aren’t drinking the dregs, either. The Competition package TTS drives into the autumn of its life as an intense, flavorful sports coupe that turns both corners and heads, a genuine driver’s car equipped with enough technology to keep it current but not render it into boring proficiency. In time it might even be said that for the TT, 2015 was a very good year.

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