Audi TT-RS Test Mule Spotted for the First Time

There are qite a few clues that this is a test mule. For instance, the bodywork doesn't match the engine we can hear and this hot lap is taking place during the industry testing sessions at the Nurburgring, when mostly prototypes and pre-production cars are seen.

The powertrain should be quite similar to the one used by the RS3 hatchback we showed you yesterday. The bodywork, meanwhile, will be a more extroverted version of the one used by the all-new 2015 TTS.

Under its bonnet, an updated 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine will be mounted longitudinally and coupled with a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox that sends power to all four wheels. This smaller version of the MQB platform was never designed to take this specific powertrain and unlike with the 2-liter turbos, Audi has to do all of the engineering work by itself.

Using start-stop technology, low friction parts and better thermal management, the new TT-RS will be a lot cleaner and more efficient than its predecessor. Power should be up as well, to somewhere between 367 and 380 PS. of course, you don't buy a 2+2 coupe with a large engine for the fuel consumption, you buy it for the performance. Since this will be a very light car with more power than a Porsche 911 Carrera and standard all-wheel drive, 0 to 100 km/h launched could take less than 4.5 seconds.

There's not that much to tell you about the prototype in the video, other than the fact that it clearly sounds like it has a five-cylinder turbo engine and not the 2-liter that's been rumored. A strange feature on this prototype is that it has quad exhaust on, which could mean that either Audi is changing its RS designs or the oval end piece will be fake, attached to the bumper, not the manifold, as is the case with the RS6.