With the first two incarnations of the Audi TT selling more than 500,000 between them, the pressure is on the latest third-generation model – and, as ever, the design will
be important to its success.
So auto express brought together all three TT generations, with Dany Garand – Audi exterior project designer – to talk us through the evolution.
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Such was the radical look and immediate success of the TT when it was launched back in 1998, this new model was never going to stray too far from its foundations, despite being 157mm longer and 150kg lighter than the original.
Garand showed a clear appreciation of the first-generation TT, and he was quick to defend the latest model amid accusations that its design hasn’t changed enough.
“I wouldn’t say the design is evolutionary,” he told us. “I’d say it’s a respect of the icon, a revival of the icon.
“There was a very clear intention of readdressing the styling strength and architectural clarity of the first generation. We looked at different styling, but the perception of the automobile was no longer as a TT. You change a few elements and people lose the link to the TT.”
Garand wanted the automobile to remain very much its own model, explaining: “There are a few design features on the TT that’ll never appear on another Audi. You don’t see this styling approach anywhere else in the line-up today, and we feel it should stay that way.”