Little Dynamite

The second-gen Audi TT RS has sparked a lot of fireworks and has a fat chance of coming to India.

- Rohit Paradkar

Audi flew us to Spain recently to sample the latest addition to its RS line-up (and probably the best so far). The weather wasn’t looking very good when we landed in Madrid, as dark clouds and light drizzles threatened to leave the Jarama racetrack wet in all the wrong places. The ex-F1 circuit was to play host for our media drives of the new Audi and a half-wet track would only add more to the already steep learning curve that this track throws at first-timers. It has double apex bends, blind hairpins and an uphill corkscrew – all of which are bound to keep you busy for a good load of time. Fortunately, however, the day we went out to drive, the sun had come out again and the track looked inviting. Audi had jazzed up the ambience with the presence of cars like the Sport quattro S2 and the RS2 Avant – the car that started the RennSport (RS) tradition. But the attention grabber was the lady in red, the TT RS.

The RS has no trouble distinguishing herself from her simpler sibling. She wears a massive fixed-wing spoiler that instantly highlights her intentions. Then there are the additional ornaments like the splitter, the diffuser and a larger single-price grille with a deep lower lip flaunting the ‘quattro’ insignia. She also flaunts her new tail lights which get wafer-thin OLED detailing. The RS wears different footwear too, comprising of larger wheels that have a very similar design to the signature wheels on the previous TT RS, but without the jazzier two-tone finish. Audi sold over 7,000 units of the previous TT RS and expects to sell a lot more of the new Mk II, and it isn’t difficult to see why. With the handsome new design, the boffins from Ingolstadt have also gifted this car with power. Lots of it.