Fast Car Magazine #

Audi’s TT RS is the most

extreme TT ever built,

packing 4WD, 20-inch

rims and a 340bhp fi ve-

cylinder turbo lump from the

factory. So when half of your

business revolves around TT

modifi cation, you need in on

that… but when the car’s so

new you can’t even buy it yet,

how do you go about

modding one? Simple, you

use your contact at Audi to

build it in the factory instead.

It sounds crazy, but that’s

exactly what Dave Mahoney

of The TT Shop did. It’s rare

manufacturers embrace any

mods, so to have them do the

work in their own German-

based production line takes

some serious smooching. “We

pride ourselves on our

quality, making sure every

product, regardless of size

and cost, is to an OEM

standard,” explains Dave. “We

don’t just do TTs – we do

anything VAG related. And as

much as Audi can’t be seen to

embrace this level of

AUDI TT RSAUDI TT RS

FACTORYW

OR

DS

RIC

CI P

ICS

DA

N P

ULL

EN

FACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORY

THE TT SHOP PRIDE

THEMSELVES ON OEM

QUALITY, SO WHEN IT

CAME TO BUILDING

A CAR FOR 2010,

THEY HAD AUDI DO

THE WORK FOR ’EM

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Defi ning Car Culture

FACTORYFACTORY

You can’t beat the feeling of driving a fast car on a proper country road.

FACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORYFACTORY

FCR294.hr3 129 12/7/10 5:12:46 pm

Fast Car Magazine #

modifi cation, they’re happy to get involved in anything that helps portray a sporting element to their cars.”

Dave’s vision for the TT RS was simple – make it look, feel, handle and perform as good as the Porsche GT3 RS, which is Porsche’s track-focused, top-of-the-range model, just like the TT RS. This would mean a whole new colour scheme, new interior, uprated suspension and handling, and even more power.

It was only the exterior that Audi changed – everything else was done in-house by TTS. Regardless, having one of the world’s largest manufacturers fi nish a new car in your custom spec is pretty damn impressive! First up was the exterior, and with the GT3 RS as inspiration there was only one colour suitable.

“It’s the 2DB Porsche Viper Green as found on the RS,” explains Dave. “It’s that exact colour, which, as you’d expect, isn’t a factory colour for Audi!” Dave and the rest of the team were constantly in talks with the German

straightforward,” adds Dave. “But just the exterior took Audi nearly a year to fi nish. But it’s an extreme car, it deserves extreme looks!”

Being the top model, the Audi TT RS comes from the factory with a whole range of goodies. Factory mods include 19-inch titanium alloys, Bose audio, tyre pressure monitoring and much more. But Dave wanted the TTS RS to perform like its Porsche inspiration, so immediately set to work on the chassis. Bilstein PS110 coilovers help lower and stiffen up the car, while H&R

factory, sending over paint samples and stitching colours to ensure a perfect match was made. Trying to build a new car some 700 miles away with a slight language barrier was never going to be easy. “You would think in such an effi cient factory it’d be quite

If you’re not a fan of GT3 green, look away now.

Ain’t no perches hotter than these.

430BHP is lerking in there at the minute but soon it’ll be 500…

AUDI TT RS

They may be factory in the TT RS, but to go one step further, Dave had his Recaros custom

trimmed by Audi before painting the backs himself.

RECAROSEATS

FCR294.hr3 130 12/7/10 5:12:52 pm

Defi ning Car Culture

TECHSPECAUDI TT RS STYLINGCustom factory Porsche Viper Green paintwork; VentureShield stone chip protection; full AutoGlym LifeShine paint protection; TTS graphics.CHASSISBilstein PSS10 coilovers; H&R anti-roll bars front and rear; full SuperPro Poly bush kit front and rear; 19-inch titanium alloy wheels; tyre pressure monitoring system.TUNINGRevo Stage 2 software; Milltek TT RS performance exhaust; Milltek TT RS performance downpipe and cat; Forge Motorsport front mounted intercooler; Haldex Gen 4 performance 4WD controller with selectable remote control; Pipercross panel fi lter; custom painted Brembo 6-pot callipers with 380mm drilled discs; TTS custom drilled rear brake discs with green refi nished callipers.INTERIORCustom painted Audi Recaro TT RS edition seats; custom painted inlays and handles; TTS TT RS logo custom carpet mats with green trim; custom TID carbon fi bre/leather multi-function steering wheel; green stitching; Defi gauges mounted in TID carbon surrounds with hidden control box (boost/oil temp/EGT); black Alcantara headlining; interior light package.ICEBose audio; Bluetooth prep; Audi RNSE 2010 sat nav; Audi AMI iPod system.THANKSThe TT Shop – 01234 853225www.thettshop.co.uk.

anti-roll bars eliminate any bodyroll. Dave even went as extreme as replacing all the bushes with SuperPro Poly items – despite it being a brand new car, with brand new bushes, and literally a few km on the clock. “What can I say, we wanted to do things properly,” laughs Dave.

It’s pointless making a car look so good on the outside unless it’s just as good on the inside, so Dave and the TTS boys went to town. Those RS bucket seats were custom-stitched from Audi as part of the factory ‘additions’, but the rest of the work was all done by Dave in-house. The quality’s so good you could

never tell, and that’s exactly why Audi agreed to get involved in the fi rst place.

Just like the chassis, the TT RS is fairly well equipped from the factory, so other than a bit of carbon detailing and some green stitching, the RS didn’t need much doing. Instead, TTS focused on the fi ve-cylinder turbo engine…

While Audi wouldn’t touch under the bonnet, Dave and the TTS boys knew exactly what they were doing. A full Milltek exhaust system coupled with a Forge intercooler and Pipercross fi lter let the fi ve-cylinder lump breathe easy, while Stage 2 mapping in conjunction with

Revo squeezes out a massive 430bhp. By the end of the year Dave’s confi dent it’ll be over 500bhp.

“We were the fastest 4WD at GTI International, with a 0-60mph of 3.5 seconds and ¼-mile in 12.09,” explains Dave. “We aren’t developing this purely for our own demo car – every single modifi cation, conversion and tuning package seen on this car is available to the public, and we’ll ensure it’s the same quality as this.”

What a day, what a hat and what a car.

The TT RS in a rare moment of traqulity and calm.

Nothing screams performance like a meaty set of brakes! The TTS RS packs custom-

painted Brembos with monster 380mm two-piece discs.

You can’t even tell it’s fi tted, but this protective fi lm protects the TT RS from any

stone chips regardless of how fast it’s going.

BIG ASSBREMBOS

VENTURESHIELD

OWNER: DAVE MAHONEYQ: Hey Dave, so you like Porsche GT3 Green then?A. Yeah, we love that colour and it suits the Audi TT perfectly.Q: What’s your tuning philosophy then?A: We pride ourselves on our quality, making sure every product, regardless of

size and cost, is to an OEM standard.Q: Strong work. What’s next?A. More testing and more power!Q: We like the sound of that.

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