The TT RS is a product of Audi Sport, the automaker's high-performance division.
Audi Sport pumps a select few models with extra everything, transforming them into muscular land rockets.
And because this car weighs only about 3,300 pounds, it delivers a mighty gravitational pull when you bury the gas pedal.
Here we have the standard Audi Sport steering wheel, wrapped in Alcantara and leather. Alcantara is a wonderful, grippy material — and also a bit garish. If your car is so equipped, there's an unspoken presumption that the vehicle will thrill you enough to make your palms sweat.
There's some Alcantara on the interior door panel, too. Perhaps for when the lateral G-forces have pressed you into the side window, mid-turn.
Also, check out these twin oval exhaust outlets. They make a joyful noise, as you will have heard if you watched the YouTube clip a few slides up.
The oval exhaust tips are the signature look on all Audi RS models.
If you're not the type of driver who likes to flaunt your car's go-fast cachet, you can opt out of this rear wing spoiler. To the untrained eye, that bold, red-inflected "TT RS" badge will be the only clue that this car is a troublemaker.
The verdict.
The Audi TT RS is a fun car, no question. The carmaker managed to engineer a true mini R8 here, because it embodies everything that defines its larger, faster big brother.
The TT RS is brutally quick, and our test car's optional "dynamic plus" package bumps the top-speed limiter to 174 mph. Now, of course we didn't try to reach those speeds on public roads, but it's further proof that this particular TT is not like the others.
Driving dynamics are fine-tuned here in the thoughtful kind of way you would expect from a true supercar.
The turns are flat, precise, and perfectly balanced. The raucous burbles and pops from the exhaust give this car a sense of occasion on each startup. But the real thrill comes during purposeful acceleration; the turbocharged five-cylinder's harmonics soar from a low rumble to a thunderous howl that wakes up all of creation.
Is it worth the $80,000 price of entry for our test car? Yes and no.
Yes, because it's way more car than it looks like from outside.
No, because of its relatively close resemblance to a standard TT. Strictly in terms of appearance, it comes off as ... a dressed-up TT, despite Audi's best attempts to give it some flair.
It looks so normal, an obviously stock Toyota 86 pulled up beside me on the highway at one point and revved its anemic motor. A Toyota 86.
Now, are there better options at this price point? Sure.
You could buy a: BMW M2 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R Chevy Camaro ZL1 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Mercedes-Benz AMG C63S Jaguar F-Type RBut unlike most of those vehicles, in the Audi TT RS, you get an unhinged car that manages to hide its crazy. Still, it isn't for everybody, but those who own one know this: it's in a class by itself.