Audi Sets TT Coupe Price
22 February 1999
Audi Sets TT Coupe Price -- Truly Attainable at $30,500 Including Standard Leather Interior AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 22 -- Audi of America, Inc.
announced today that the base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for
its 180 horsepower, front-wheel drive TT Coupe will be $30,500. This
remarkable sports car, which received such acclaim at its North American
premiere in early January, is due in Audi dealerships around the U.S. in May.
The new TT Coupe is the birth of an Audi sports car tradition. Pure.
Unabashed. Authentic. Attainable. These are the simple, powerful words that
best describe the automobile that embodies all of these ideas. First shown as
a concept car in 1995 at the German Motor Show (the "IAA") in Frankfurt, no
compromises were allowed to water down the inspiration of the original design
-- a rare success in automotive development history.
The TT has all the credentials of an authentic German sports car with its
180 horsepower 1.8 liter turbocharged five-valve engine, five-speed manual
transmission, disc brakes with ABS, and sophisticated sport suspension.
Riding on its standard 16-inch alloy wheels, the TT Coupe accelerates to 60
miles per hour in 7.4 seconds.
A New Take On Sports Car Equipment
The typical sports car from an earlier generation was often spartan in its
equipment, with many details that almost seemed to have been improvised.
Today's sports-car driver is looking for performance, but also for character
and individuality, together with a modern car's standards of comfort and
convenience. The Audi TT Coupe satisfies these wishes completely with every
feature from remote-control central locking integrated into a folding
ignition key to an alarm system with interior monitoring sensors and warning
lights in each door.
One of the highlights of the interior is undoubtedly the sport seats with
their standard full Valcona leather upholstery. As a no-cost option, buyers
can select a combined TT cloth and Valcona leather upholstery, with raised
rubber elements in the cloth seating areas, that holds the occupants in place
during most any sporting maneuver. To ensure that both the driver and front
passenger can find the optimum seating position that is so important in a
sports car, both front seats are contoured to fit the occupant's body and have
continuously variable height adjustment.
Other standard features, to name a few, include an 80 watt sound system
with eight speakers; tilt/telescopic leather covered steering wheel; standard
front foglights; automatic climate control with dust and pollen filter; power
windows with one-touch up and down; electric rear deck lid and fuel filler
release; and power, heated mirrors. Something else that you don't have to pay
extra for is the remarkable Audi Advantage. It is standard equipment, as it
is with all Audis sold in the U.S. This top-rated -- and sometimes imitated
-- combination of warranties and protection includes:
* Three-year/50,000 mile no charge scheduled maintenance.
* Three-year/50,000 mile limited new vehicle warranty.
* Twelve-year limited warranty against corrosion perforation.
* 24-hour Roadside Assistance for three years.
Options are few for such a well equipped car. The Performance Package
includes Xenon high intensity discharge headlights with automatic self-
levelling and 17-inch six-spoke cast alloy wheels with 225/45 R 17 Z
performance tires. The Comfort Package includes Audi's signature heated front
seats with individual temperature controls, and a driver information display
with 6-function trip computer, vehicle auto check system, radio display, and
pictogram for open door and deck lid. The Audio Package includes a 175 watt
Bose(R)* premium sound system with four loudspeakers in the doors, two 2-way
rear loudspeakers, a center speaker in the dashboard, and a six disc CD
changer (located in the storage compartment next to the left rear seat). A
hands-free cellular telephone is available as a stand-alone option. Pricing
has not yet been set on these options.
To personalize their selection, buyers can choose between three
introductory colors: Brilliant Black with clearcoat, Lake Silver metallic and
Denim Blue pearl effect. Further into the model year the TT will be available
in four additional colors: Amulet Red, Desert Green pearl effect, Aviator
Gray pearl effect and Raven Black pearl effect. Interior upholstery colors of
Ebony, Aviator Gray and Denim Blue match up with a number of the exterior
choices.
Safety was an integral consideration in the design of the TT Coupe. That
is why, for even greater protection, it is the first Audi to be equipped with
two head/thorax (chest) side airbags mounted in the front seat backs. These
airbag supplemental restraints are designed specifically to protect the upper
body and head region in the event of a side impact. Coupled with standard
next generation driver and front passenger airbags, automatic front seat belt
pretensioners and seat belt force limiters, the TT offers excellent
protection. A unique, high-strength tubular steel element also serves as
additional cross bracing in the door post region to give the bodyshell
structure particular rigidity.
Unlike many other sports cars, choosing the TT Coupe still allows you to
take it with you. With its large, curving luggage compartment lid, the front
wheel drive 2+2 TT Coupe can swallow 13.8 cu.ft. of luggage. By folding down
both sides of the split rear bench seat, the TT can accommodate over 10 cu.ft.
more payload for a total of 24.2 cu.ft.
The TT Coupe is the start of an attainable range of pure, passionate
sports cars designed to radiate an identity that is unmistakably Audi. After
the introduction of the TT Coupe in the U.S. in May, a quattro all wheel drive
version of the TT Coupe with 180 horsepower will arrive in the U.S. starting
late Summer and Canada slightly later. Next Spring a 225 horsepower version
of the TT Coupe is expected. Pricing on these additional models has not yet
been defined. Whichever model one chooses, the TT delivers all the advantages
of proven Audi technology. It is the perfect blend of automotive passion with
engineering intelligence that reaches for the heart immediately and
instinctively.
*BOSE is a registered trademark of Bose Corporation. Covered by patent
rights issued and/or pending.
