Ahead of the world premiere of the Audi A8 flagship sedan at the first Audi Summit, the German carmaker showcased both the TT and the R8 supercar, retrofitted with a special Sport Performance Parts package. This retrofit package will be available beginning from late 2017.
These personalisation parts could be opted for with both the vehicles to enhance four key areas – suspension, exhaust system, exterior and interior. This additional kit not only makes the dynamic duo look more aggressive, they are also functional performance upgrades.
In the suspension package, for instance, there are two- or three-way coils over suspension available for both the cars. The brakes get ‘sport brake lining’ which fades slowly, compared to the standard one. The linings are available for both steel and ceramic brakes. The R8 gets ultralight titanium carrying plates done in fluorescent red, thus shaving off a kilogram in weight. For the TT, multiple bolt mountings are available with various brake cooling kits, thus improving the braking performance.
The fully-milled 20-inch black alloy wheels for the pair are of motorsport grade, thus helping them save on a total weight of 7.2kg and 8 kg on the Audi TT and R8 respectively. For the all-wheel-drive TT with quattro, the retrofit range includes a cross-member reinforcement bar on the rear axle. A higher top speed of 280kmph is also a part of the package. The exhaust system includes a sonorous and ultralight titanium muffler sourced from Akrapovic.
On the exterior front, the Audi Sport Performance Parts offers aero kits developed in Audi’s wind tunnel. There are aggressive front air vents, side sills and diffusers which can substantially boost the downforce on both the cars. A whopping 250kg of downforce can be had on the R8 at the speed of 330kmph (an increase of 100kg on standard car). There is also a splitter and flics at the front apart from a large fixed rear wing. The TT gets an engine hood with large air vent. All these aero parts are made out of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) for the Audi R8 and for the Audi TT out of CFRP and plastic.
The interior is dominated by a sports contour steering wheel with multifunction features wrapped in Alcantara. The paddle-shifters are made of CFRP as well. The rear seats in the TT can be replaced with CFRP strut cross braces thus shaving off at least 20kg in weight while enhancing torsional rigidity and improving high-speed cornering capability.
Although it is initially available for just these two models, additional model series will soon be offered with the same, affirmed the Ingolstadt-based carmaker.
