Ingolstadt/Győr, May 2, 2023 – 25 years, 3 generations: Audi has made design history with the Audi TT. Since its debut in 1998, the sports car has wowed people around the world with its unique styling and driving experience. In 1999, Auto Europe voted the Audi TT as the best new car of the year, which was also a real novelty at Audi Hungaria, since it was the TT models that the company started its vehicle manufacturing with. At first, the lacquered bodywork of the TTs arrived by train from Ingolstadt to Győr, where the Győr-based staff carried out the final assembly of the vehicles. In 2013, with the opening of the new vehicle factory, the entire production process moved to Győr—from the press shop through the body shop and paint shop to the final assembly of the cars. Over the years, the vehicle manufacturing portfolio has continuously expanded, and currently, in addition to the TT Coupé and Roadster models, the Audi Q3 and Q3 Sportback models are also produced in Győr.
“For us, the TT marks the birth of vehicle manufacturing in Győr. It is the car we ‘grew up’ on, and it is what made us a truly professional vehicle manufacturer. The TT also brings back many personal memories, as I have followed its journey since the very beginning. I am immensely proud that we are now celebrating the 25th anniversary of this model, our Hungaricum. All Audi TTs roaming on the roads around the world are made by us, and they are a testimony to the expertise of our employees and our passion for cars in many countries,” said Zoltán Les, Member of the Board of Management of Audi Hungaria responsible for Vehicle Manufacturing.
Design
The Audi TT Coupé is a genuine sports car with a fresh, completely new design by American designer Freeman Thomas. The debut of the concept car at the 1995 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show was a huge success. The model name ‘TT’ is reminiscent of the Tourist Trophy races, one of the oldest motorcycle race series in the world on the Isle of Man, where NSU and DKW engines were a great success. In addition, the name ‘TT’ also recalls the NSU TT model of the 1960s. The conscious departure from Audi’s naming tradition also confirmed: something completely new was born.
In December 1995, the company made the decision to start the series production of the car. Torsten Wenzel, Audi’s vehicle exterior designer, drove the concept car through to series production: “For us, the greatest praise was the commendation from the trade press for the fact that the concept car and the series production model were hardly different, even though we had to change a number of details to get the car road‑legal.” The most striking difference was the integration of a rear side window, which further elongated the TT’s profile and increased its dynamics. For Torsten Wenzel, the Audi TT is, to this day, like a moving sculpture with the highest quality surfaces and lines. “The bodywork of the TT gives the impression of being made from a single piece. The car’s bumper-less front end highlights its streamlined design. There is another defining element that contributes to the Audi TT’s unmistakable silhouette: the circle element, the graphic form of completeness,” as Wenzel puts it. The exterior and interior of the sports car are decorated with a number of recurring circular motifs. Inspired by Bauhaus design, every line in the Audi TT has a purpose, every shape has a function.
Production
The first Audi TT Coupé rolled off the production line at Audi Hungaria in 1998, in brilliant black, followed by the production of the TT Roadster in 1999. At first, as a result of a unique production cooperation with AUDI AG, the lacquered bodywork of the TTs arrived by train from Ingolstadt to Győr, where the Győr-based staff carried out the final assembly of the cars. A total of 269,498 units of the first generation were produced in Győr. The success of the first generation made it clear that it was worth continuing the TT story, therefore in 2006, series production of the second generation was launched in Győr. The second generation was produced at Audi Hungaria until 2014, with a total of 241,276 units manufactured by the staff in Győr. Since 2014, the third generation has been produced in full depth in the company’s vehicle factory, which opened in 2013, with more than 145,000 vehicles having rolled off the production lines to date. Since 2009, Audi Hungaria has also been producing RS models alongside the basic models, which are powered by the legendary five-cylinder engines also produced in Győr. In 25 years, more than 650,000 TT models have been manufactured by the Audi Hungaria staff, most of which have been delivered to their new owners in Germany, Great Britain, the United States, France and Japan.
Uniqueness
Audi Hungaria also donated a model from each of the three generations to the Hungarian police force. In 2005, the company delivered a first-generation TT Coupé model powered by the jubilee 10 millionth engine built in Győr. In 2008, a second-generation TT Coupé arrived at the police force powered by the 15 millionth engine from Győr, while a third-generation TT S model, delivered in 2015, completed the line-up.
TT models have been manufactured in Győr in a number of unique colors, the most distinctive of which have perhaps been the Erica Violet, Lime Green and Voodoo Blue TT RS models made for China.
The company has introduced matte lacquering for series production in 2022, therefore, TT models are now available in matte Daytona Grey, Floret Silver, Dew Silver and Python Yellow as well.
With the Audi TT RS Coupé iconic edition—a special edition limited to only 100 units produced, of course, at Audi Hungaria—the Audi TT celebrates a quarter of a century of success in the company’s 30th anniversary.
