The Audi TT will die at the end of the 2023 model year, and the reality is that most people won’t even notice it’s gone. Small affordable coupes have fallen out of fashion and the people who might have once bought a TT are probably driving crossovers like the Q3 Sportback these days, or picking up a more macho rear-drive Toyota Supra or Nissan Z.
Contrast that apathy with the wild excitement that met the launch of the original TT back in 1998. The thing was a sensation, a brilliant blend of cool Bauhaus design, beautiful Audi interior quality, and the VW Group’s punchy turbocharged 1.8-liter powertrains.
Even the ugly news reports about crashes resulting from supposedly wayward handling characteristics – which Audi bosses privately dismissed as bogus, and the resulting recall a PR move to prevent a brand-harming repeat of the 1980s unintended acceleration fiasco – couldn’t dim its luster. And how could they when the addition of a 3.2-liter V6 option and groundbreaking tech in the form of the DSG twin-clutch transmission kept interest up until the arrival of the blander second-generation TT in 2007.
Related: What On Earth Happened To All The Affordable Coupes?
I sometimes wonder whether the TT could recover its cool quotient if it went back to its roots and Audi built a car that was as stylishly confident as the original TT. The automaker is done with small coupes so that’s not going to happen. But here’s the next best thing: an original first-generation TT with just 580 miles (933 km) on the clock.
We’re not sure how this UK, right-hand drive 2006 car managed to accrue so few miles, but it must be one of the best-preserved, little-used examples in the world. The only downside, one that’s given away by the single tailpipe, is that it’s packing the lower-power 187 hp (190 PS) version of the 1.8-liter turbo four (upgraded from 178 hp / 180 PS in 2005) and FWD (ignore the stuck-on Quattro badges) rather than one of the high-output (up to 242 hp / 245 PS) derivatives, or the 247 hp (250 PS) V6, all of which came with AWD.
Still, these 1.8T motors feel gutsy whatever spec they’re in, and are easy to tune. And when it comes down to it, this car’s 187 hp is very close to the 194 hp (197 PS) produced by 2023’s entry-level TT 40 TFSi, which is also front-wheel drive but lacks the old geezer’s manual ’box. One of those new TTs will set you back £36,365 ($46,995) in the UK, where this Mk1 is for sale priced at £24,950 ($32,300). Suddenly, what might seem like big money for an old car doesn’t seem quite so crazy.
Check out the original dealer ad here.
