It wasn't much of a shock when Audi announced that the TT was dead after 2023 in the US. The brand's boss suggested in 2019 that the two-door model's future was already in doubt. The car retains the original's sporty quirkiness and packs quite the performance punch as it prepares to leave the automotive stage. A new video captures the Audi TT RS Roadster reaching its top speed on the German Autobahn.
The Audi TT RS Roadster uses the brand's turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-five engine. It makes 400 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque that is pumped to all four wheels. The convertible can reach 62 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds. It has an official top speed of 155 miles per hour but an option can increase that to 173 mph. However, the video shows the speedometer reading a bit more than that – 290 kph, which is 180 mph.
Gallery: 2022 Audi TT RS Heritage Edition
While 2023 will be the model's last year in the US, Audi is not giving it a big sendoff here. The automaker launched the limited-edition Heritage Edition for 2022, building just 50 of them. However, the company announced in April the TTS Memorial Edition for Japan. Audi limited production to just 100 units while the car special bronze accents and other touches. Audi introduced the Final Edition in the UK as it was the model's most substantial market in 2022. It accounted for over 30 percent of the model's total global sales.
The Audi TT was first shown to the world in 1995 as a design study and was quite popular. The company would put it into production a few years later, in 1998, and would produce over 178,000 units by the conclusion of the first generation in 2006. Audi introduced the TTS and TT RS during the second-gen production run, adding the variants in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The TT RS made 335 hp when it first launched.
The third and final generation arrived in 2014. Audi reduced its weight while increasing its power, making it more capable than ever. The most potent 2023 Audi TT offered in the US is the TTS, which produces 288 horsepower.