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2016 Audi TT Second Drive [w/video]

The original Audi TT is a modern style icon. But having a one-time design hit isn't a recipe for longevity. In order to succeed, you have to bolster style with substance. Thankfully, that's exactly what Audi did with its third-generation TT. Now more than ever, the TT is a proper sports car, and it debuts with a host of new technology. The car still looks good, but it's no longer a one-off masterpiece. Instead, it takes many of the original TT's elements and incorporates new bits of modern detailing. The shape is all TT – the roofline, the wheel arches – even smaller details like the fuel filler cap and exhaust outlets moved closer to the center of the vehicle pay homage to the original car's design. But the new car's face is more angular, more robotic. Park the new R8 next to this TT and the family resemblance is clear. "It's fair to say that the new car hasn't been comprehensively reconceived; it's been comprehensively re-detailed," says associate editor Jonathon Ramsey, who first drove a Euro-spec TT back in September. It's a good move, a way to "keep the icon alive," according to Audi AG exterior designer Dany Garand. But the better news is that the rest of the car is more than just a comprehensively re-detailed machine. Launch a TT coupe from a stop and you'll hit 60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. The TT rides on the same modular MQB architecture as the Volkswagen Golf. The whole package is the same length as before, but the wheelbase is stretched by 1.5 inches. At 3,186 pounds, the TT is only 11 pounds heavier than its predecessor, but thanks to new body components, it's 25-percent stiffer than the second generation. We sampled the base TT on the roads of northwest Oregon – that means there's a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It's the same output as a GTI with the Performance Package in a two-door coupe that's 155 pounds heavier. But stay with us – the magic of Quattro all-wheel drive seriously comes into play here. Launch a TT coupe from a stop and you'll hit 60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. Even the TT Roadster is a firecracker, able to do that same 0-60 run in 5.6 seconds. That 220-hp, front-wheel-drive GTI, by comparison, hits 60 in about six seconds flat. We didn't get to drive the TTS, but based on numbers alone, it ought to be a real honey. The S uses the more powerful version of the 2.0T engine from the Golf R, with 292 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Zero-60: 4.6 seconds.

Forza 5 documents bringing Audi R18 E-Tron and Le Mans to game

Forza Motorsport 5 is set to come out on November 22 alongside the all-new Xbox One. As part of the launch lineup for a big new system, it shouldn't be a shock that Turn 10 Studios, the maker of the Forza series is going all out in promoting its new game. That's meant making interesting partnerships, like the one it enjoys with Top Gear.
Perhaps a less talked about alliance is between Audi and Turn 10. It's put on full display here, though, as Turn 10 documents the process of building Forza Motorsport 5 alongside Audi's quest at Le Mans, with both sides talking about what it takes to make a game and racing team work (they aren't as different as you might think).
There's also quite a bit of Le Mans and Audi-specific content coming with FM5. As with previous iterations of Forza Motorsport, gamers will have access to both the old and new Circuit de la Sarthe (the most notable difference between the two being the presence of Chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight). Audi will also be volunteering several of its vehicles for the new title, ranging from racers like the R18 e-tron Quattro and Audi Sport R8 to production rockets like the 2013 R8 V10 plus, 2006 RS4 and the 1983 Sport Quattro.

Stanford goes from Pikes Peak to Thunderhill with autonomous Audi TTS

In the years since Stanford University engineers successfully programmed an Audi TTS to autonomously ascend Pikes Peak, the technology behind driverless cars has progressed leaps and bounds. Back then the Audi needed 27 minutes to make it up the 12.42-mile course – about 10 minutes slower than a human driver. These days, further improvements allow the vehicle to lap a track faster than a human. The researchers recently took their autonomous TTS named Shelley to the undulating Thunderhill Raceway Park, and let it go on track without anyone inside. The Audi reportedly hit over 120 miles per hour, and according to The Telegraph, the circuit's CEO, who's also an amateur racing driver, took some laps as well and was 0.4 seconds slower than the computer. To make these massive technological advancements, the Stanford engineers have been studying how racers handle a car. They also hooked up drivers' brains to electrodes and found the mind wasn't doing as much cognitively as expected. It instead operated largely on muscle memory. "So by looking at race car drivers we are actually looking at the same mathematical problem that we use for safety on the highways. We've got the point of being fairly comparable to an expert driver in terms of our ability to drive around the track," Professor Chris Gerdes, director of Stanford's Revs Program, said to The Telegraph. With progress coming so rapidly, it seems possible for autonomous racecars to best even elite drivers at some point in the near future. Related Video: