2019 Audi TTS Coupe - On the famed Mountain Course of the Isle of Man TT. A section of the course was closed to traffic running between Creg-Ny-Baa corner and The Hairpin, giving us to opportunity to drive the course at speed. It was the first time ever that a section of the course has been closed to traffic for a driving event other than the Tourist Trophy and a handful of other motorcycles races run on the Isle of Man every year.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The Audi TT, and it's TTS variant, get a styling update for the 2019 model year, as well as some technical modifications with more standard equipment added. The car sits in the pits of the Isle of Man TT course.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The Pulse Orange is a new color for 2019, with Tango Red and Turbo Blue also added to the mix. The car is pictured here in the pits of the Isle of man TT course.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The TT, and it's TTS variant get a styling update for the 2019 model year. Here the car sits in front of the Creg-Ny-Baa pub on the Isle of Man TT course.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The Creg-Ny-Baa corner was the site of our improvised start line for a run up a closed section of the Mountain Course of the Isle of Man TT.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - I’ve got the car in both the Dynamic and Manual modes so I can shift with the steering-wheel paddles. The 2.0 liter turbocharged 301 horsepower four-cylinder engine delivers it’s torque as I floor the throttle and, in a flash, we’re gone…
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - It’s not long before disaster strikes. Litterally. As we reach Hailwood Rise at close to 150 kilometers per hour, a startled flock of seagulls takes flight and I gently kiss one with the front fender on Costa’s side of the car. I glance in the rear view mirror and see it flop on the tarmac, dead. Somehow, both Costa and I are unfazed, must be the adrenalin, and I press on.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The front fender took a hit at about 150 kilometers per hour when we struck a seagull on the course.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - As far as the oily bits are concerned, the restyled TT now gets a new seven-speed DSG dual-clutch gearbox, which replaces the previous six-speed unit, with closer ratios for the first six gears and the seventh gear acting as an overdrive to lessen engine revs and drone as well as to reduce fuel consumption at highway speeds. The Audi Drive Select dynamic handling system is now standard on the TTS, complete with magnetic ride adaptive dampers.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The TTS has always had a very stiff chassis and very good driving dynamics, albeit with some understeer, courtesy of the car’s all-wheel-drive system. However, the TTS I am driving today is fitted with twenty-inch alloys and Pirelli P Zero tires, and that larger footprint makes the car very responsive to steering inputs on corner entry, which means that I am having a blast.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The all-wheel-drive’s central clutch reacts in milliseconds, sending torque where it’s needed, and the TTS feels well planted. Torque is now up to 295 foot-pounds and the TTS Coupe weighs 1405 kilos. It all adds up to impressive performance, as the car’s short size and wheelbase allow it to carve through bends with composure as the scenery is flying by.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Horsepower is rated at 301, torque is now up to 295 foot-pounds and the TTS Coupe weighs 1405 kilos. It all adds up to impressive performance.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - As I finally come to a stop at our initial start point, we get a short break and I can get re-acquainted with some of the particulars of the TT. It is such a small car that the backseat is symbolic at best, only good enough for short trips with small children or leprechauns who have made their way over on the Dublin ferry.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Connectivity is good, with two USB ports and standard Apple CarPlay, and the car of course features the stellar virtual cockpit, which was first introduced on the TT a few years ago and has since found it’s way into just about every vehicle Audi makes. Build quality is impeccable and the materials used in the cabin are top-shelf.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Cargo volume.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The Audi TT celebrates it’s twentieth anniversary this year, as the first series production cars rolled off the assembly line in 1998.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Photographed here on Marine Drive near Douglas on the Isle of Man.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Photographed here on Marine Drive near Douglas on the Isle of Man.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Photographed here on Marine Drive near Douglas on the Isle of Man.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Photographed here on Marine Drive near Douglas on the Isle of Man.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The TTS gets very supportive sport seats as standard equipment. It is such a small car that the backseat is symbolic at best, only good enough for short trips with small children or leprechauns who have made their way over on the Dublin ferry.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Detail shot of the sport seats.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - The virtual cockpit, first introduced on the TT, has exceptional graphics. The sport multifunction steering wheel is standard. The circluar air vents with integrated contols are a nice design element.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Gabriel Gélinas at the wheel on a closed section of the Mountain Course of the Isle of Man TT.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Gabriel Gélinas refelecting on the rarefied experience of driving the new TTS on the Mountain Course of the Isle of Man TT. It does not get much better than this…
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Postcard from the Isle of Man.
2019 Audi TTS Coupe - Postcard from the Isle of Man.
