Audi TT RS 8J
Five cylinders, 1-2-4-5-3, in the smallest shell Audi ever wrapped around them.
The return of the Audi five-cylinder, and the only TT RS with a clutch pedal.
7 reviewers · 8 videos · 2 hours watched
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling.
across 7 reviewers
Performance
4.5/57 of 7 reviewersstrong consensus“340 brake horsepower and 450 Newton M of torque all of which spells a rest to 60 capability of uh just 4.6 seconds”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 3:51“this is a seriously fast car and I have to say for me it feels instantly faster than the new Cayman that I tested and even than the slk55 AMG”
positive · TheGetawayer · ▶ 3:52“get this car between three and five and a half and it delivers devastating performance”
positive · JayEmm on Cars · ▶ 8:22Handling
4.0/57 of 7 reviewersstrong consensus“this tit's grip is simply astonishing”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 5:34“you don't have to be as Progressive as with other sports cars you can slam the brakes in front of a corner you know ride the corner nicely and then you have just all the tracks in the world”
positive · TheGetawayer · ▶ 11:39“doesn't seem to have much of an issue with getting around a Bend either”
mixed · JayEmm on Cars · ▶ 8:29Fun to drive
4.5/57 of 7 reviewersstrong consensus“driving it fast on public roads and the Y Bar was just blindingly good fun”
positive · TheGetawayer · ▶ 14:51“that 5 cylinder sound man it is a fantastic noise it's so good to be back in a car with a 5-cylinder engine”
positive · KiwiCarLife · ▶ 5:15“I think that's the best characteristic of this engine, honestly, is the sound. There's there's nothing that sounds like it at the time.”
positive · Roads Untraveled · ▶ 6:32Daily drivability
3.5/57 of 7 reviewersconsensus“without this system the standard rid is rather over firm all of the time”
mixed · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 5:48“what amazes me about this car is that you can really leave it in six gear all the time no problem and it pulls really really strong”
positive · TheGetawayer · ▶ 10:02“It's been a really good, reliable car for these last 12 months. Literally, not one problem.”
positive · Car Chris · ▶ 30:47Value
4.0/57 of 7 reviewersstrong consensus“I paid 6 600 pounds plus fees... you can pay six thousand pounds for an engine alone let alone the rest of it”
positive · TR Hamza · ▶ 1:56“at least residual values should be strong thanks to this car's relative Rarity”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 14:12“I do think the RS is going to be a great investment.”
positive · Car Chris · ▶ 40:39The 8J TT RS is where the modern Audi five-cylinder starts. The 2.5 TFSI was a new engine for 2009 — iron block, direct injection, a single large turbo — and it went on to win its class at International Engine of the Year repeatedly. In a TT shell it gave Audi something the Cayman and the 1M did not have: a sound nobody else made.
Mechanically it is a transverse, Haldex-driven car on the same platform as the Mk5-era Golf, with a wider track, bigger brakes and a fixed wing. The launch gearbox was a six-speed manual; S tronic followed in Europe. The US waited until 2012, got the higher 360 hp tune, and got it with three pedals only — which is why American 8Js have the following they do.
How it drives follows from the layout. The five hangs ahead of the front axle, so turn-in is blunt and the car leans on its front tyres. Traction out of a corner is total. It is a point-and-fire car, not a balance car.
Where it places in the lineage: the proof of concept. Everything the RS3 and the 8S later did with this engine began here.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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- TT RS plus2012 on; the 2.5 TFSI raised from 340 PS to 360 PS. The US-market TT RS used this higher output.
US cars (2012–2013 model years) were six-speed manual only and coupe only; Europe also got a seven-speed S tronic from 2010 and a Roadster. The iron-block five sits ahead of the front axle, so the car is nose-heavy and understeers at the limit; the Haldex system is front-biased and only sends drive rearward on slip. The fixed rear wing was standard, with the regular TT's retractable spoiler available as an option.