Most powerful Audi TT ever available in the U.K. in September

Character-building five-cylinder power continues to be the lifeblood of the Audi TT RS, which can be ordered in the U.K. from late September in an all new 395bhp form. Available as before in Coupe and Roadster forms, the most powerful series production TT to date merits comparison with the supercar elite with its sub-four second acceleration capability and potential 280km/h top speed.

It offers a similarly exclusive specification that fittingly also brings the option of new Audi Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) lighting technology on stream for the first time. These advanced new lamps in 3D design comprise four wafer-thin units, the largest of which bears the TT logo and the four Audi rings. They emit an extremely homogeneous, high-contrast light; which can be continuously dimmed, does not cast any shadows and does not require any reflectors, making them both efficient and visually impressive.

The new Matrix OLED units are available as an alternative to the 'standard' LED rear lamps with their dynamic rear indicators, and in a similar vein the standard LED head lights can also be replaced on request by Matrix LED lamps containing 12 separate controllable LEDs, which form the high beam and can be individually shut off when sensors detect traffic ahead or approaching, to 'divert' their beam around other road users.

Lighter than its predecessor by 26kg, thanks in large part to the integration of an aluminium crankcase, the newly developed five-cylinder, 2.5-litre TFSI engine with dual injection and Audi Valvelift technology brings to bear a 17 percent increase in performance in the latest TT RS.

The considerable uplift in power and torque - from 335bhp in the outgoing 'standard' car to 395bhp and from 450Nm to 480Nm - facilitates a searing 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.7 seconds (3.9 seconds for the Roadster) on the way to a governed top speed of 249km/h. This peak can be raised to 280km/h if the optional Dynamic Package Plus is specified. The cost-effective package also includes a sports exhaust system, which helps to further distil the very essence of this car, namely its addictively offbeat five-cylinder engine note.

In the interest of performance, the weight of the seven-speed S tronic transmission, which deftly manages the engine's formidable output has also been reduced by around 2kg thanks to a new angle drive to the prop shaft. Its shift characteristics can be tailored to the driver's requirements via the Audi Drive Select adaptive dynamics system, which offers Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual modes. These also have a bearing on the operating parameters of the RS-specific progressive steering, the throttle, the exhaust flaps and the quattro all-wheel drive system.

In the TT RS, quattro takes the form of a multi-plate clutch-based system capable of freely distributing power between the axles for incisive, high-grip handling. It works with wheel-selective torque control, which also favours agility, and with an elaborate suspension configuration that firmly affixes the car to the road without compromising its innate adjustability.