A Very Unique 8N Audi TT That Could Have Had Alot Of Potential

Updated: 29 Nov 2024

The Audi TT was never known for lacking horsepower, but sometimes 160 - 250 HP just wasn’t enough. The one you see here has the AZR engine out of a B5 RS4, which means 380 HP.

Note: This is inspired by a Jalopnik article which originally appeared on Fourtitude, photo credits: Gunter Stachon. If you own anything from the original article, please let me know.

When the quattro GmbH 30th anniversary display openened in 2013, something rather unique was there. To some, it might just just have looked like a regular Imola Yellow 2001 8N Audi TT 3.2 VR6. But it had some unique changes to the front and a unique decklid spoiler, it wasn’t just a regular TT. If you opened the bonnet, you’d notice that it has a longitudinally mounted AZR 2.7L V6 Biturbo from the B5 RS4 which means it is much more than a regular TT. This was a secret prototype made by quattro GmbH,
and you may have noticed that the engine bay doesn’t have that much space, the reason for that is the TT’s engine bay is designed for transverse engine layouts. The idea was actually to take the B5 A4/S4/RS 4’s platform and cut out 170 mm ahead of the fuel tank, which matched the wheelbase of the much smaller TT 8N. The car also had around 20.000 kilometres on it (2013), since it was being driven quite alot.

This prototype is the only factory Audi TT with a V6 engine, since the “3.2 V6” BUB engine was actually VR6 designed for transverse layout since the Audi TT is based on the A3. The TT has an Audi ASF spaceframe aluminium construction, which means that this car could have a pretty interesting acceleration time. Inside the car, it looks surprisingly similar to the limited run TT Quattro Sport, with the alcantara steering wheel and bucket seats which was also similar to what was found in cars like the special RS 4 Sport built for the 2000 Essen Motor Show one year before this one in 2001. And believe it or not, this car also used the RS4 drivetrain, which meant a torsen differential quattro system with a 40:60 split. Instead of the regular TT’s FWD based Haldex system. Which means that this car could be even more extreme than the current Audi TT RS 8S, but how? Simple, the 8N generation was smaller, and over 100 kg lighter. Not to mention the TT RS has a Haldex system.

By the time of today, things like this rarely happen as you might have expected. One of the main reasons back then, was because Audi didn’t have the R8 production car nor the concept. Which meant the TT was the only 2 seater sports Audi back then. This was actually an entire B5 RS 4 chassis with a TT shell on it in order to make it all work. This included the engine, transmission, rear differential, front and rear axles, brakes and even the wheels from the B5 RS4. Pretty much all of the chassis parts were out of a B5 RS 4. Audi was able to use the RS 4’s drivetrain for this prototype, making it possible for a power potential of around 380-400 hp including the well-developed 40:60 split torsen-based quattro system (also known as self locking centre differential) as mentioned earlier. The car was able to out-perform a Porsche 911 at the time, and was fun to drive.

The project took eight months to finish. From the outside it looked like any other 8N TT, except for the redesigned front end and decklid spoiler and de-badged rear end. What really made this car special, was the B5’s legendary chassis and the iconic styling of the 8N generation of the TT. After 12 - 13 years, the car was on display at the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt where the museum is also located.

Data:

Engine: V6 DOHC “AZR” Biturbo 30V with 5-valves per cylinder

Power: 280 kW , 380 hp at 6,100 rpm

Torque: 440 Nm at 2,500 rpm

Transmission: 6-speed manual, with torsen differential quattro permanent all-wheel drive

Wheels: 8.5 J x 18, 9- spoke design, 255/35 ZR 18 tires

0-62 mph: 4.8 seconds

Top Speed: about 183 mph / 295 km / h

Dry Weight: 3483 lbs., 1.580 kg

Date of Manufacture: 2001

Units produced: 1

Price: Unknown