JOHANNESBURG - After disappearing from the South African price lists, Audi’s TT RS has made a comeback in facelifted form, and it remains one of the few five-cylinder vehicles still available.
Priced at R1 062 000 in Coupe form, or R1 113 500 if you want the open-top Roadster, the refreshed TT RS sports a subtle exterior facelift at the front and back and perhaps the most noticeable addition is the new ‘ironing board’ rear spoiler with side winglets.
The TT RS rolls on 20-inch alloy wheels and the car is available in nine colours, including the RS-specific Kyalami Green, and customers can also opt for matt aluminium and gloss black styling packages.
As before, power comes from Audi’s 2.5-litre TFSI five-cylinder turbopetrol engine, which produces 294kW and 480Nm. That’s sufficient, Audi says, to get the compact sports car from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
Power goes to all four wheels through a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch gearbox and quattro system. However, buyers will have to pay extra if they want the RS Sport suspension system with adaptive dampers.
Cabin highlights include RS-labelled sport seats in Nappa leather (with red, blue or black stitching) and a honeycomb pattern. The performance flagship also boasts RS-specific displays in the standard digital instrument cluster, providing information on things like g-forces, tyre pressure and torque output.
As for infotainment, Audi’s MMI Navigation Plus system is standard, featuring free text search and ‘natural language’ voice control.
Buyers wanting to add some more colour to the cabin can opt for Tango Red or Turbo Blue highlight packages for the seatbelts and air vents.
The TT RS Coupe and Roadster models are both sold with a five-year/100 000km Audi Freeway Plan.