The 2023 Audi TT RS Iconic Edition is being built in limited numbers to mark the end of production for the German marque's popular sports car. Based on the flagship TT RS and with just 11 examples coming to the UK (and 100 across Europe), it is the most expensive TT production model to date, with a price tag of £87,650.
Yes, you read that price correctly – and yes, it’s a lot of money for a TT. But it’s worth reading on to find out why it might just be worth it for certain buyers.
First Drive: Audi TT RS Iconic Edition
- Audi TT Concept and Mk1
- Better in Every Way: The Audi TT Mk2
- The Formula Perfected: Audi TT Mk3
- Marking the End of the TT
- The TT RS Iconic Edition
- Driving the TT RS Iconic Edition
- Attention Grabbing
- Fact File
Audi TT Concept and Mk1
In order to understand why Audi deems it palatable to charge near-Porsche 911 money for the once humble-TT, it is worth recounting the life and impact of this compact coupe. The TT was first shown in concept form at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show. What marked it out was not that Audi was mulling over adding a coupe to its line-up – after all, it’d built coupes before. Rather, key to the TT’s magnetism was that it introduced a Bauhaus-inspired design language that was not only an entirely new to Audi as a brand, but pretty much to the entire automotive industry.
That concept car was so well received that it not only made it through to production three years later, but did so virtually unchanged. The fact that it was based on the platform of a Volkswagen Golf and used VW Group engines worked in the TT’s favour in that it made it cost effective to produce. However, it was also impossible to hide the fact that the Mk4 Golf that underpinned it was not renowned as an exciting car. Solid, yes, but with a ride as soft as an overripe banana and the handling sparkle to match, it did not make for a great sports car driving experience.
As a result, while the Mk1 TT coupe and subsequent roadster looked like miniature supercars, and shared a dazzlingly good interior, to drive they felt distinctly ordinary. While the limited edition Sport Quattro attempted to rectify this with its lighter build and 240bhp version of the four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, it remained on the stodgy side. And so while it is no exaggeration to describe the Mk1 TT as a landmark moment in car design, its dynamic side was nothing of the sort.
Better in Every Way: The Audi TT Mk2
Then in 2006 Audi fixed almost all complaints about its small coupe with the launch of the Mk2 TT. Again it was based on the Golf, only this time VW’s PQ35 platform was a significantly better starting point. All of a sudden, the TT was a sports car with the driving chops to back up its styling. And while some of the design simplicity of the original had made way for finely honed creases that better tied the TT to Audi’s other models, the little coupe and roadster still had unique appeal in the market – and sold like hot cakes.
Only the flagship TT RS, with suspension that was as unyielding as granite, threatened to let the side down, although with a redeeming feature in the shape of a stonking five-cylinder turbocharged engine, it wasn’t without appeal.
The Formula Perfected: Audi TT Mk3
Audi launched the third and what for now looks to be the last generation of TT in 2014. It is a mark of the car’s inherent ‘rightness’ than even a decade later and with the end of production in sight, it remains a highly recommendable coupe or roadster. Like all TTs, the Mk3 TT retains a useful degree of practicality on account of its tiny rear seats and 305-litre boot. It’s also quick, particularly in TTS and flagship RS forms, distinctively styled and has an interior that is off the scale in terms of material quality, fit and finish – even by Audi’s lofty standards. As evidence of just how successful the Mk3 TT has been, consider that it has made it to 10 years in production virtually unchanged. There are very few Audis you can say that about.
Yet while the TT’s fundamental quality remains, the market in which it exists has changed immeasurably. Buyers seeking style now find it in SUVs not sports cars, and with bigger cars equalling fatter profits, the car makers have jumped at the chance. Fuel preferences are changing too: where petrol and then diesel and then petrol again once ruled, the market has shifted to electrification.
All of which explains why the TT, despite making a considerable contribution to Audi’s reputation as a maker of desirable cars, is nearing its end. While outwardly Audi’s messaging is nothing but positive as it pays tribute to its successful coupe and roadster, it’s hard to imagine that internally there are not those who wish it could remain. After all, not all EVs need to be SUVs.
Marking the End of TT Production
In the meantime, the end of the line for a car as important to Audi as the TT represents an ideal opportunity to wheel out a special edition or two. For the Mk3 TT, the first of the runout trims is called the Final Edition. It is available on four-cylinder TT and TTS models, and bundles in lots of equipment packs and gloss black exterior detailing for an uplift of about £6,700.
The other is the modestly named Iconic Edition, which comes only in a two-tone design that pairs Nardo grey paint with gloss black detailing, and serves as the focus for this first drive. This one is only available on the flagship Audi TT RS coupe, and as with the Final Edition bundles in a series of upgrades on to an already impressive car. Although perhaps not as many upgrades as you might expect given the near £30,000 premium Audi is charging.
The TT RS Iconic Edition
The list of changes for the TT RS coupe Iconic Edition can be grouped almost exclusively under the banner of ‘cosmetic’. There are no mechanical upgrades at all, and while the various bodywork addenda and aero kit (giant carbon-fibre rear wing, diffuser, side skirts, front splitter and winglets) have been proven in the wind tunnel, they do not turn the TT RS into a Cayman GT4-chasing track car.
In fact, despite its aggressive appearance, the Iconic Edition is actually more of a grand tourer, which you’ll know as soon as you climb aboard. Its two-tone sports seats with their deep side bolsters finished in Nappa leather might offer great support, but they are also squishy enough for hours to pass without an ache. Then there’s the build quality, which is hefty to the point of being overengineered. More than perhaps any other Audi – and therefore almost any other car – this Iconic Edition features an interior for which the look, feel and action of every button, dial and panel far exceeds your expectations. While it would be overstating matters to describe the level of perceived quality as Bentley-like, it’s really not all that far off.
Under the bonnet is Audi’s 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine. This TFSI petrol engine, which also powers the RS3, generates 395bhp and 354lb ft of torque. Run through a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system, it gets the Iconic Edition from 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds. The top speed, since you asked, is 174mph, and comes as result of Audi lifting the standard TT RS’s 155mph limiter.
To start the engine requires pressing one of the many buttons that adorn the TT’s three-spoke steering wheel. It fires into life quickly, and with a deliciously off-beat growl that can be augmented through the Bang and Olufsen speakers should you wish. And you probably will, for while the quality of the five-pot’s soundtrack is never in doubt, the volume almost always comes across a little strained.
Driving the TT RS Iconic Edition
As you can imagine given the power output and a kerb weight of 1,475kg, the TT RS offers performance of the explosive variety. Plant your right foot and there’s a momentary pause as the engine comes on full boost and the gearbox shuffles its cogs, and then: Boom! Even from a standstill and even when the road surface is damp, the four-wheel-drive RS hauls with a level of traction that borders on unbelievable, each of the gearbox’s upshifts banging home in a flash.
As you’d expect with a modern Audi, there are various driving modes (again accessible by a button on the steering wheel) to heighten the car’s response, but the real joy is an individual setting that allows you to find the perfect balance between throttle, noise, gearbox, steering, and ride comfort.
On the subject of ride, the Iconic Edition features adaptive dampers as standard. While the range between their extremes of Comfort and Dynamic isn’t terribly broad, all modes do offer an impressively controlled ride. What’s more, the 20-inch alloy wheels and the rubber band-like profile of the Pirelli tyres is far less problematic for ride comfort than you might expect. All of which is a huge part of what gives the RS its grand tourer credentials. The brakes are also strong and consistent.
For its steering, the Iconic Edition utilises Audi’s electrically assisted rack, with the option to vary its weight as you change the driving mode. The Alcantara-wrapped wheel responds faithfully, revealing a front end that is quick but never hyperactive. There’s even a bit of feel that filters back through the rim of the wheel to your fingers, and while the RS is still a car that ultimately favours outright grip over adjustability, it’s still plenty responsive enough to entertain. Is it as satisfying to drive as a Cayman or 911, or the Audi R8 for that matter? Ultimately, no, because it lacks the last fine layers of balance, precision and tactility that those cars posses. But by most other measures Audi has created a very decent driver’s car, and one that lives up to the Iconic Edition’s visual statement of intent.
Verdict
So, is it worth it? Well put it this way: if near-£90,000 is too much for a TT, then nobody told the many members of the public that commented, photographed, and generally admired the Audi TT RS during the week we had it on test. In fairness, it’s not hard to see why; the Iconic Edition’s stance, low, wide and menacing, with its piercing LED headlights and honeycomb grille, give it the look of a road-racer, and the combination of Nardo grey paint and gloss black detailing has never been anything but cool.
Whether it’s ultimately a better than a Cayman GT4 or Alpine A110, or indeed a standard TT RS isn’t really the point. The Iconic Edition is among the most desirables TTs ever built and therefore easily good enough to mark the end of the road for Audi’s popular coupe.
Search for an Audi TT on CarGurus
Fact File
Audi TT RS Iconic Edition
Price: £87,650
Fuel type: Petrol
Powertrain: 2.5-litre Five-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic gearbox, Quattro all-wheel drive
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 354lb ft
0-62mph: 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 174mph
Fuel economy: 31mpg (WLTP Combined)
Verdict: The upgrades along do not make the Iconic Edition worth its highly inflated price, but this particular TT still has the look, feel and performance to make it feel special.
