Audi announces prices for sleek new TT

AUDI Australia has announced super-sharp pricing for the second-generation TT coupe it will release here in mid-November.

Due to make its national public debut at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney on October 26, the new TT will be priced from $68,900 for the direct-injected 2.0-litre TFSI turbo, which offers a healthier 147kW and blasts to 100km/h in 6.4 seconds and offers a 240km/h top speed in front-wheel drive, six-speed manual guise. The six-speed S tronic auto will be available for $72,500.

The current (original) TT coupe is priced from $63,950 for the 120kW S Line, rising to $68,500 for the 140kW S Line coupe and $72,100 for the 140kW Tiptronic. This means the all-new model will be priced just $400 more than its predecessor, which was launched here in May 1999.

The 3.2-litre V6 version, this time offering 184kW and belting to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds on its way to a 250km/h top speed in quattro all-wheel drive form with a DSG dual-clutch transmission, will be priced at $88,900. That's almost $7000 less than the current TT Coupe 3.2 DSG quattro ($95,800).

The redesigned TT coupe made its world global appearance at a spectacular event at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate in Germany on April.

The 2006 TT is 137mm longer than its predecessor (4178mm) and 78mm wider (1842mm), while the wheelbase grows from 2429mm to 2468mm and front and rear tracks increase from 1528mm to 1572mm and from 1505mm to 1558mm respectively.

Because Audi has constructed 69 per cent of the new model in aluminium, with steel used for the remaining 31 per cent and biased towards the rear to achieve a favourable weight balance, the result is that the V6 quattro weighs barely any more than the 1.8-litre, four-cylinder quattro previously offered.

The expanded track dimensions are accompanied by larger wheels, ranging from 16 to 19 inches, and there's a new multi-link rear suspension replacing the previous double-wishbone arrangement.

There's no word yet on a successor for the 140kW TT Roadster S Line Tiptronic, which will continue on sale alongside the new TT coupe and is currently priced at $78,500.