2019 Audi TTS Roadster Is Faster Than Classic R8 V8 Manual: How!

The drag racing world is full of underdogs winning races with smaller engines or slightly less power. But you're probably thinking of something like a Lotus or Caterham, not the 2019 Audi TTS.

The TTS Roadster is not an underdog per se. The roadster body makes it quite heavy for a model that's only 4.2 meters long, tipping the scales at about 1,495 kilograms. It's also built a lot like the Golf R with which it shares its platform: 2-liter turbo at the front sending power to all four wheels only when the fronts start to slip.

The official power rating for 2019 is 306 HP (metric) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. The 7-speed S tronic gearbox will get you from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, about the same as an AMG A35.

Its rival for the day is meant to show that Audis really have gotten faster over the years. It's a 2008 Audi R8 coupe with the normal 4.2-liter V8 engine and a manual gearbox. It's making about 420 HP and 430 Nm (317 lb-ft). Because it's manual and doesn't have launch control, you'd imagine the TTS gets the jump on its sports car ancestor.

However, the exact opposite thing happens; the R8 gets a better start and slowly loses ground over the quarter-mile race, despite the V8 sports car boasting an official 0 to 100 km/h time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 301 km/h (TTS hits 250).

We can already hear the keyboard warriors typing "it doesn't matter the TTS won because I would still buy the R8." That's true; it's cool as heck, but you're probably not going to get one. Demand for the manual R8 was so low that Audi stopped making one, and keeping this classic mid-engined machine on the road is a headache. So yeah, you'd have the R8 over the TTS, but you're probably going to buy a Ford Focus.