New Audi TT reveled as angular update to rounded original

When Audi first launched the TT in 1998 as a 1999 model, it instantly became a design icon. Its short, squat body was an amazingly simple, almost art-deco arrangement of big circles connected by straight lines, like a napkin doodle brought to life. Only as an Audi, it was pretty much perfect.

That same kind of strict geometry returns to the TT in its third generation, which just made its world debut at the Geneva auto show, only now, its tidy dimensions contain hexagons and trapezoids on the single frame grille, air intakes and elsewhere. The arched roof profile remains unmistakable, especially in the back, but the window line now features an A5-like kink in the C-pillar. Unique front and rear fascias and dual vs. quad tailpipe treatments separate the standard TT from the more powerful TTS model.

With the new TT, Audi has once again used its vast experience in LED lighting to create yet another clever motif for its headlamp and taillamp innards, with skinny light bars separating main lamps. All-LED “Matrix” headlamps may be offered as an option, possibly with a predictive cornering lamp function that comes on in advance of a curve based on information from the navigation system. The latter function is contingent on our country updating its antiquated lighting regulations, so don’t hold your breath.

“Less is more” was the mantra for the new TT’s interior designers, who decided that the center stack screen for the multi-media interface (MMI) could be and should be combined with the instrument cluster in what Audi is calling the Audi virtual cockpit. Radio, navigation and connectivity are all contained in the  12.3-inch, multi-configurable TFT screen behind the flat-bottom steering wheel and operated remotely by the MMI disc in the center console or via controls on the wheel. The driver can choose from three display modes: “classic,” “infotainment” and “sporty,” and Audi promises that its voice activated functions and logic pathways have become more intuitive than ever.