Audi TT 3.2 Quattro Coupe

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Audi first showed its TT design study to the world at the 1995 Frankfurt Auto Show where its clean, industrial look of Bauhaus simplicity captivated the automotive world.

The design team included J Mays, Peter Schreyer and Freeman Thomas, the same team that had penned the new Volkswagen Beetle. Some say the name came from the ‘Tourist Trophy’ that Audi’s forebear NSU had campaigned in. Some say it stood for ‘Technology and Tradition’ - please yourselves which you believe.

It was based on the highly-rated VW Group A4 platform as used in the VW Golf Mk4, the original Audi A3, and the Skoda Octavia. Power came from VW’s transversely-mounted, 20-valve 1.8-litre turbo four putting out either 180bhp or (with a larger K04 turbocharger and an additional intercooler) 225bhp. Going through a five-speed gearbox, drive to all four wheels was available as an option. A six-speed ’box soon followed and a roadster version was added in August 1999.

For the really sporting driver, Audi dropped in the 24-valve 3.2-litre V6 in 2003, which knocked out 246bhp and gave a 0-60mph time of 6.2 seconds with a top speed of 155mph. Coupled to this was Audi’s new, super-slick, six-speed DSG semi-automatic dual-clutch transmission, operated either automatically or via paddles on the steering wheel, which changed gear in the blink of an eye.

This March 2004 TT has the range-topping 3.2-litre, DSG gearbox, four-wheel drive chassis combination that makes it a blisteringly fast all-weather charger. Said to be in good condition throughout and to drive well with an MOT to February 2015, it looks suitably cool in black metallic with a black leather interior.

The vendor states that the car had an extensive service history when he bought it for his wife a few months ago but, at the time of cataloguing neither he nor she could readily lay their hands on it. It is only reluctantly being sold due to a change of work location which means that the lady owner now has to commute to work by train and can no longer justify the luxury of TT ownership.

It may seem premature to be talking about a mid-Nineties car as a classic but, such was the impact of the original TT design (totally lost on the Mk2 version of 2006) that TT enthusiasts already hark back to the first series in a very wistful way. As yet, these cars aren’t terribly expensive, but such is the affection and demand for them that this might not last a whole lot longer...