Why buy the new Audi TT when the original is so cheap?

CONTRARY to what most pub experts might tell you over a pint, the world, as a general rule of thumb, is getting better rather than worse.

It’s heartening to note, for instance, that smallpox has been eliminated, we can all now communicate instantaneously using internet-enabled smartphones, and that platform shoes, Party Seven and outdoor toilets are all but a distant memory. In fact, just about the only things I can think of that have gone backwards in the past 15 years are the speed jet airliners can cross the Atlantic (a call to bring back Concorde) and the battery life of mobile phones (a call to bring back, ahem, the Nokia 3310).

Oh, and the Audi TT. Largely because I reckon the new one has lost touch with what made the original such a hit.

The third generation of Audi’s swoopy coupé has just been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, and I’ve no doubt that it’s faster, more refined and safer than the two which preceded it on suburban driveways up and down the land. It’s also likely to register more prominently on my petrolhead radar if it’s any more involving to drive, but – to my mind at least – it misses the point completely because it looks so similar to the one it replaces. The new TT will, I’ve no doubt, be parked on every street by the end of the year, but you’ll no longer be granting it a cheeky second glance when you walk past.

Yet all the attention being given to the new TT means you might have missed one of the motoring world’s worst-kept secrets. The TT that’s most likely to be a classic car in a decade’s time, the wonderfully Bauhaus original version, is an undisputable bargain right now.

Peruse the classifieds and there are stacks of first generation TTs there for the taking, with the one you want – the 225bhp quattro coupe in metallic silver – starting at around two grand. 

Admittedly, you can also pick up early Mercedes SLKs, long-legged BMW Z3s and – if you try really hard – Porsche Boxsters for the same sort of money and they’ll be a lot more fun to drive, but there is something about the original TT’s shape and attention to detail which will still be turning heads in years to come.

So you can spend the thick end of £30,000 on an Audi TT which no one will bat an eyelid at, or you can have the head-turning original for a tenth of the price. Which would you go for?

Audi confirms new TT

THE first new Audi TT in almost a decade will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, it has been confirmed.

While Audi is remaining tight-lipped until the show about the prices and specification of the new car, a teaser sketch released by the German firm reveals elements of the car hark back to the original TT of 1998.

The new car will replace the current version of the TT, originally introduced back in 2005.

Kia gets it right with the GT4 Stinger

THINGS are looking grim in America at the moment.

While you were busy worrying about high tides and gale force winds, people on the Eastern Seaboard have been enduring something which Michael Fish types call a polar vortex, nudging temperatures to so comically cold that the Niagra Falls actually froze. People haven’t been going to work. They’ve uploading footage of freshly boiled water turning instantly turning into snow onto YouTube instead. 

As a result I was surprised anyone actually braved the bitter conditions for a trip to this year’s Detroit Motor Show, but those who did have been rewarded with an historic moment in motoring. A Korean company unveiling a genuinely gorgeous and exciting car.

This, as far as I’m aware, has only happened twice before in the entire history of South Korea’s car industry, making it a sort of solar eclipse of motoring. The first was back in 1995, when Hyundai launched the Coupe, which caught the car world napping because it was curvaceous and charismatic when everything else it made at the time – the Accent, the Sonata and so on – was at best bland and at worst visual pollution. Then, in 2008, it launched a rear-wheel-drive GT car called the Genesis, but none of us ever got to see it because the company has never sold it in this country.

The rest of the world launches cars designed solely with the wow factor in mind every other week – we’ve got the F-type, Italy’s got the Alfa 4C, Japan’s got the Toyota GT86. Korea’s upped its game lately with attention-grabbers like the Kia Soul and the Hyundai i40, but its ‘wow’ cars, the sort of thing your eight-year-old son Blu-tacks to his bedroom wall, are few and far between.

That’s why I really hope Kia gets its latest concept car into production. Even without the freezing Detroit weather outside, it is a truly cool car.

For starters, the name is spot on – ladies and gents, meet the Kia GT4 Stinger, which makes it sound like a fighter plane. It also might only have a 2.0 litre engine, but it’s turbocharged, and chucks 315bhp through a six speed gearbox at the back wheels. Yet the thing which really stops you in the GT4 Stinger’s tracks is the way it looks, which is stunning.  It’s all bulging wheelarches and narrow windows, and it looks like it means business.

Think of it as Kia’s answer to the Nissan 370Z or – if you’re a bit older – as a sort of Korean reinvention of the Ford Capri. Get making it, chaps!

Toyota in convertible GT86 shocker

IT WAS only a matter of time. Toyota is considering putting a convertible version of its fabulous GT86 into production.

The Japanese car giant will unveil what it's calling the FT-86 Open at this year's Geneva Motorshow in a few week's time, and while it's calling it a concept car I wouldn't be fooled; if the original FT-86 concept coupe was anything to go by, I'd put my money on an al fresco version of the rear-drive enthusiasts' favourite being in the offing.

It's one of two concepts the company's showing off in the Swiss city - the other being what's billed as Toyota's response to the Renault Twizy - and while the official line is that it'll only decide to put the FT-86 Open into production if the public likes it, chances are it will. What's not like about the inevitable but inviting prospect of one of the great drivers' hits of the past decade?

The coupe version of the GT86 is a bit of a Life On Cars favourite, blending sleek coupe proportions, keen pricing and old fashioned rear-wheel-drive, oversteer-happy dynamics to create something that offers as much fun as some sports car costing two or three times its £25,000 price.

The initial impression I got when I drove it last year was that it's a Mazda MX-5 on a 1.5 times scale with metal rather than fabric over your forehead but that's selling it short. It's somehow meatier and more challenging, but more thrilling too.

Of all the cars I drove last year, this was by far and away the one I had to fight my way past other journalists to get a go in, and I can understand exactly why. I can also also understand exactly why Jeremy Clarkson said the GT86, of all the four billion cars he drove last year, was his favourite. In an automotive landscape where everything is anodyne and the loudest sound you're likely to hear is the chime of a seatbelt safety warning, the GT86 is a motor with a sense of mischief. It's a laugh.

Throw in open-top thrills (without ruining too much of the coupe's dynamics) and I reckon they'll have a bit of a roadster hit on their hands.

MINI embraces coupe style for new Paceman

FEAST your eyes on this - a sort of coupe version of the MINI Countryman.

The Paceman, which is closely related to the five-door soft roader but comes with a sleeker and sportier shape, is set to go on sale across the UK early next year, making it the seventh version of the the BMW-engineered baby. Just in case you've forgotten, here's the others; Cabriolet, Coupe, Countryman, Roadster, Clubman and the three door hatch that started it all.

A strict four seater, the Paceman will come with four engines - two petrol, two diesel - and the choice of six-speed manual and auto boxes, with the range-topping Cooper S Paceman packing a 184bhp punch and the ability to sprint to sixty in 7.5 seconds.

The Paceman goes on sale next March, with prices starting at £18,970.

Peugeot takes a scalpel to the RCZ

 

PEUGEOT has either ruined or improved one of the most stylish cars it's ever made, if the first pictures of a new facelift are anything to go by.

I know that not everyone who reads Life On Cars agreed with my reckoning that the RC Z is one of the best looking cars the French firm's ever produced - while I said it's "probably one of those exotic-yet-attainable style icons you get once in a generation", at least one of you took the time to write in and challenge my views of what makes a good looking car, saying "the roof looks like a backside". No matter what you make of the coupe and its double-bubble roof, you can't deny it's a boring car to look at.

The new version, don't get me wrong, keeps the RCZ looking fresh in a field of a new arrivals, with Hyundai's Veloster on one side and Toyota's GT-86 on the other chomping for a bite of the coupe cake. I just don't think - and I know style is a very personal and subjective thing - that it looks quite as good as the original.

As always, feel free to disagree...

Fire up the... Vauxhall Astra GTC

YOU know you're living in more stylish times when you can freely use “Vauxhall Astra” and “good looking” in the same sentence, but it's true. This new Vauxhall Astra is genuinely good looking.

There are, even if this aesthetically enlightened age plenty of cars you could call striking or challenging but the Astra GTC achieves something much more remarkable, it is one of those coupes that rings all the right visual eyes with almost everyone who takes it in.

Then again, twenty years ago the company's Calibra dissapointed drivers when it was launched, because under its equally striking skin were unexcitingly ordinary Cavalier mechanicals. In order to impress against the likes of Volkswagen's Scirocco and Hyundai's Veloster - which also offer sleek coupe lines with a hint of hatchback practicality - it'll have to offer substance to back its style up.

Like the Veedub and the Hyundai, the GTC's really more of a three-door hatchback with added glitz than a truly no compromises coupe, and while that means you might lose a little in glamour what you gain is big practicality, with genuinely useful headroom and legroom inside, even in the back, where most of its rivals lose out.

The 1.7 diesel version I tried offers plenty of punch too - it's a shame about the slightly tractoresque soundtrack you get when you start it up, but the tradeoff is a claimed 62 to the gallon and lots of low down torque to play with. Even more impressively, it's well equipped, coming with no less than six airbags and a stash of gadgets as standard.

Is it worth spending your £21,200 on? If you're looking for something with a lot of pose factor probably not - it's attractive but not attention-grabbingly so and interior's little staid for all its solidity, but if you're looking for a great looking car which appeals to your head and heart in equal measure it's well worth a look.

I'd still go for a Scirocco first but if the VW's not your bag, you'll love it.

Fire up the... Hyundai Veloster

LIKE a silly hat on Ladies Day at the Grand National, coupes are all about style. Even if it's useless at just about everything else, if they've got the looks then we'll buy them.

Hyundai knows this all too well, having had a string of hits with various models called simply the Coupe, which took ordinary enough ingredients and then garnished them with gorgeous sports car styling. It was a Ferrari 456GT for a fraction of the price. So how does the Veloster, the company's new coupe contender, stack up?

Very well indeed if what you're looking for are extra doors, because the new arrival uses the same trick the MINI Clubman pulled off a couple of years ago by offering you an extra opening on the left-hand side, making it usefully easier to get into than most of its rivals.

It's also, considering it's a coupe and therefore something you'd forgive for being a tad cramped, roomier in the rear and bigger of boot than you'd rightfully expect it to be.

Yet as a coupe connoisseur, you'll be buying the Veloster for the looks, and while I know style's a very subjective thing it's where I reckon the Veloster starts to fall apart. It's striking enough at the front and its proportions hide that third door beautifully but at the back it's got all the flow and grace of a crumpled piece of paper.

It might be practical but it just doesn't quite gel, and nor does the way it drive. It's an easy and refined experience not a million miles from its i30 hatchback sibling, but for something setting its stall out as being sporty the feel and handling are nothing special. There's nothing wrong with it, but nor is it anything to thrill or excite you.

The Veloster's the one to go for if you need your coupe to come with a pinch of practicality but if you don't I'd go for either Volkswagen's Scirocco, which is much more fun to drive, Honda's CR-Z, which is cramped but an eco-friendly hoot to drive, or Peugeot's RCZ, which wins in the style stakes.

Hyundai's latest coupe contender is by no means a bad car, but it isn't an exceptional one either.

Audi fans tempted by fastest TT ever

HOW much horsepower should Audi's TT coupe be allowed to handle?

The answer, Audi, reckons, is a thumping 360bhp - more than a Lotus Evora or a Porsche 911 Carrera - which British buyers will be able to check out for themselves when the latest model, the TT RS Plus arrives later this summer.

A spokesman for the German company said: "The resulting 360bhp and 465 newton metres of torque can be channelled to the quattro all-wheel-drive system through either a six-speed manual gearbox or the seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission.

"With the latter installed, the TT RS Plus Coupe catapults from rest to 62mph in just 4.1 seconds to the tune of an addictively full-bodied five-cylinder growl, closely followed by the Roadster, which needs 4.2 seconds. The top speed is limited to 174mph."

However, it's also the most expensive TT to date, and you'll need a cool £48,945 to get your hands - that's nearly £4,000 more than the standard, less powerful TT RS. The RS Plus version is available to order from Audi's showrooms now.

An MGB GT that's even better than mine

CONTINUING our occasional series on classic cars casually spotted during lunch breaks, here's an MGB GT I found a stone's throw from the seafront earlier.

If you saw the pictures of the MG Icon earlier this week it'll be obviously from these pictures which car from the company's back catalogue inspired it; everything from the nostalgic red paintjob to the bluff, chrome radiator grille and the rear hatchback comes straight from the Sixties sports coupe.

More annoyingly though, it's in almost concours condition, making my own beloved B GT look a bit rough round the edges by comparision - even though mine's got the desirable Webasto full length sunroof and I'd be much happier parking it on a side street than this beautiful G-reg example. Envious, me? Not at all...

 Do you own this classic car? Get in touch with Life On Cars by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com and let us know more about it!

Jaguar F-Type - the sports car the world has waited 40 years for

I DON'T think it's an exaggeration to say this one of the most eagerly awaited sports cars of all time. In fact, we've been waiting for this for nearly 40 years.

Today Jaguar has announced it will make a new sports car called the F-Type, meaning motoring fans will finally get a successor to the beautiful E-Type, which went out of production in 1975. It will almost certainly be related to the CX-16 concept car we saw last year and - if it's anywhere near as good as the XF, XK and XJ - it looks likely the company could have another sports car hit on its hands.

Ever since the E-Type was replaced by the XJ-S keen drivers have been calling for a true F-Type successor and it's fair to say the company's had a few false starts with the project, with the canned XJ41 coupe project eventually helping to create the Aston-Martin DB7. Then, in 2000, it wowed the motoring press with the stunning F-Type concept car, but again nothing came of it.


But this latest F-Type, Jaguar Land Rover says, will make production.

Ian Callum, the company's design director, said: "A true sports car needs to be pure in both its purpose and its form; to have the opportunity to produce such a car for Jaguar has been a privilege both for myself and for my team.

"The C-type, D-type and E-type Jaguars were all sports cars that held true to this principle in their era, and the F-Type will hold true to that same principle in its time, a time that is soon to arrive."

The F-Type will go on sale in the middle of next year. I'll start saving...

Subaru switches to rear wheel drive for BRZ coupe

THE sleek sister car of the muscular new Toyota coupe featured on here last week will arrive in Britain next July, it has been confirmed.

Subaru said its BRZ coupe, the result of a joint project with Toyota, will arrive here next summer and pack the same 200bhp flat four engine as the GT-86 coupe produced by its Japanese counterpart. Unusually for a Subaru the BRZ sticks with the Toyota's front engined, rear wheel drive layout - the company is renowned for using four wheel drive systems on its models.

A Subaru spokesperson said of the new coupe: “With 200bhp and 151 lb/ft of torque in a car weighing just 1,220kg, the BRZ has been designed for maximum – and accessible – driving enjoyment.

"The result of a Subaru-led joint-engineering venture with Toyota, the BRZ delivers a sensational and engaging driving experience, thanks in large part to an engineering and development programme that focused on achieving the lowest possible centre of gravity."

The Subaru BRZ is scheduled to go on sale in the UK in July 2012.

Honda to offer go-faster version of CR-Z

HONDA'S just announced the sportiest hybrid it makes will be made a little hotter with the announcement that a performance version will arrive next year.

The company said that it has teamed up with tuning firm MUGEN to offer go-faster version of the CR-Z hybrid coupe, which will offer up 50% more power than the existing car and rocket to sixty no less than three seconds faster.

Martin Moll, Head of Honda (UK) marketing said: “MUGEN Euro magic has created a super responsive yet eco-conscious model building on our sporting credentials and giving us the ability to compete in the hot hatch marketplace as we move into 2012.”

The standard CR-Z is the current Life On Cars car of the year, after impressing last year with its blend of performance and eco-friendliness.

The Ford Capri's back, and it's Japanese this time

STICK your men's fragrances back on the shelf and unplug your smoothie maker. Metrosexual is out and hairy-chested is back in this season.

I know this because the Ford Capri, that most medallion-wearing, bitter-swigging, cigar-chomping of cars is back, even if it isn't actually a Capri. Or a Ford, for that matter. The only way isn't Essex (or more specifically, Dagenham) anymore. Thanks to Toyota, the only way if you want an outrageously powerful but surprisingly affordable performance car is their new sports coupe.

Yes, I know the newly announced GT-86 - the worst kept secret in motoring until this week - might be Japanese but it really is the iconic Ford reincarnated. It is, like a Capri, rear-wheel-drive, which I know from experience is intoxicating and intimidating in roughly equal measure, depending on the conditions and the weight of your right foot.

Like the later Capris, it's got a big, beefy engine (197bhp 2.0 litre flat four, if you're interested) under an endlessly long bonnet, and just like Essex Man's favourite it's got a swoopy coupe bodyshell. Prices haven't been announced yet but if the pundits' predictions of about £25,000 are on the money, it'll be the performance car bargain of the year. Like a Capri.

The funny thing is that there's a remake of The Sweeney on the way next year, but rather than going for the spiritual successor to all those leather-jacketed Fords of decades gone by they've gone with an actual Ford, in the shape of the front-wheel-drive Focus ST. A hot hatch which I'm sure will be brilliant in the best fast Ford tradition, but can you see the original Regan and Carter riding around in one? Or The Professionals, for that matter? Really? I'm not too sure, Guv.

I suspect Essex Man Junior - if such a medallion-wearing, unbelievably Seventies throwback of a bloke actually exists - would go for the hairy-chested rear wheel driver. I can only hope the baddies in the new Sweeney film, which comes out next year, do pick a GT-86 as their getaway car of choice, in the hope we'll at least be promised the Focus ST being involved in some proper car chases.

Which would be faster? Answers on a postcard to the usual Champion address...

Video: Hyundai Velostar

IT'S not often I'll upload the videos manufacturers make to plug their own models, but I thought I'd make an exception for this swoopy coupe.

Hyundai's got a bit of track record for injecting a touch of style into its sportier two door models, and the Velostar - which is technically a three door thanks to some clever engineering - carries it on for the firm in fine form.

So sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy some lovely footage of what I reckon could be one of next year's big hits...