Audi's wickedly wild RS

This Audi is not designed for a tootle down to Woollies or a relaxing Sunday afternoon drive through the suburbs.

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That's just in case you might think this TT is just another fancy-pants show-off car for pretty boy and girls like the standard TT's and BMW Z cars.

Any doubts you have will be blown away before you even hear the exciting rumble of its five-cylinder turbocharged engine. All you have to do is take in the huge jet-fighter wing stuck on the back, its low feline crouch, broadly rubbered alloys, menacing black grille and Cango Cave air intakes.

No tootling in your TT

Quite clearly this Audi is not designed for a tootle down to Woollies or a relaxing Sunday afternoon drive through the suburbs. It doesn't look the part, it doesn't sound the part, it doesn't ride the part and it most definitely doesn't cost the part.

This Audi is clearly designed for one thing only - and that's for fast fun, preferably on track days, quiet early morning mountain passes or long stretches of desolate Karoo roads.

And forget about shopping trips to the Waterfront unless you keep your shopping down to one or two carrier bags. And forget taking the teenagers along for the ride. Theoretically it does have a back seat, but even garden gnomes will feel cramped back there.

It’s able to adapt the suspension damping to suit road conditions.

Nope, this TT RS is best enjoyed by a driver and maybe a front seat passenger who is not inclined the look for the brake pedal in the passenger foot well or for mythical ropes to grab hold of when the going becomes rapid.

Bucking the girly and metro male trend of CVT and auto boxes in sports cars, the RS has a stubby gear lever which short shifts manually like butter through the six cogs on offer.

The brakes are quite sensational, helped along by ABS, EBD and HBA and the roadholding has to be experienced to be believed.

You can throw this souped-up TT in and out of corners like a go-kart and it sits like it's glued to the road. And so it should, because it is 10mm lower than the standard TT which is already an amazing tarmac clinger.

A suspension with brains

About 60% of the power is fed to the rear wheels.

The fact that our test car was armed with optional 19-inch rubber also helped, although it contributed to a really taut, at times even uncomfortable ride, particularly at low speeds over uneven stretches of tar.

Having said that, the ride does improve with speed and for this we have a self-adjusting, clever suspension to thank. The white coats of Ingolstadt gave it techno brains so that it's able to adapt the suspension damping to suit road conditions.

The steering is sharp and gets sharper as the speed increases and even with the traction control nanny holding the car's hand it never feels as though she is interfering too much.

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The RS is also beautifully balanced with an almost 50-50 weight distribution and being a Quattro, about 60% of the power is fed to the rear wheels.

The driver can easily change the set-up by pressing a Sport button on the central console which will reduce the grip of nanny's hand, or it can be turned off completely by those who are brave, capable and quick enough to catch the break-away tail end.

But I have deliberately left the heart of the beast to last - the wonderful five in a row engine that squats up front and which blasts out power peaks of 250kW and 450Nm.

Foam, sweet foam

In the hands of an experienced racing driver the RS will lap the tight Killarney race track in 1:24,80seconds, blast from zero to 100km/h in just 4.87 seconds and sprint on to about 280km/h, all of which is serious enough to get petrol heads foaming at the mouth.

And what a beautiful sound it produces, right from the start of the low 1600 rpm power band.... It is the stuff of goose flesh and even on a cold and miserable day it's worth driving around with the windows down just to thrill to that rousing rumble.

The Audi’s indoors is typical of the brand.

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The Audi's indoors is typical of the brand, dominated by black make-up, silver dials and gauges and red lighting, drilled metal pedals, a multi-function flat-bottomed steering wheel, comfy, tight-fitting leather racing seats, Satnav, a very classy sound system, rear park sensors and even a lap-timer.

Bottom line... it's fun!

But luxuries aside, where the Audi TT RS scores at its best is when it comes to impeccable handling, build quality, performance, looks and driving fun.

At R707 500 it is expensive, even if one accepts that dynamite comes in small, costly packages. The one-step down Audi TT S lacks some of the animal appeal of the RS, but at about R200 000 cheaper it probably is more of a common sense buy for the non hardcore clan.

But be warned: if you looking for something like a BMW Z, Audi TT, the BMW M3, the Lotus Elise and the Nissan 370 Z and you do take the RS for a test drive you could well end up with the more expensive Audi option - for the RS is a truly exceptional car designed for many wonderful hours of high octane pleasure.

Top Gear on the Audi TT RS