Pictures of the 2003 Porsche Boxster, and Porsche Boxster S, and information on all 986 Porsches.

Audi TT

2005 Audi TT 225 Quattro
(by www.pictures-of-cars.com)

Audi's stylish TT provides real competition for the Boxster.  In 225 guise it's marginally quicker than the basic Boxster with a 0-60 time of 6.4 seconds, but it can be chipped to reduce this further; drastic action can give it a similar 0-60 time as the S, though this puts the engine under extreme strain.

Four wheel drive produces excellent handling from the chassis originally developed for the Audi A3, VW Golf, VW Beetle and a number of other VAG cars.  And it performs at its best with the low profile TT coupe or Roadster bodies.

There's no doubt that the little Audi is a star performer, and its style was so far ahead of its time that it remains almost unchanged to this day, and looks none the worse for it.  Sadly it's not quite as head turning as it once was because there are so many of them about.  And many owners of the 4wd version are none to happy about the 2wd version finally making its way to the UK;  it's almost the equivalent of Porsche suddenly announcing large numbers of a new 1.8 Boxster at a drastically reduced price - it wouldn't take anything away from the existing 2.5, 2.7 and 3.2 cars, but it would make the Boxster shape less of a rarity and that wouldn't be good news for owners. 

But at the other end of the range the TT is about to get a new lease of life with the launch of the V6.  This will offer far more power than the original 180s and 225s, but more importantly will give it the prestige and the sound of a 6 cylinder.  The new model is little changed visually, though it gets all the bits.  Its main feature though, will be the dual clutch gearbox that will slash 0-60 times by minimising out of gear time; a similar device is rumoured for the Boxster 987 when it finally arrives two or three years from now.

Will all this be enough to save the status of the TT.  Well, maybe.  It's a fine car that will stand the test of time like any Porsche, Ferrari or Mercedes.  But we're seeing lots of former TT owners going on to buy Boxsters, so maybe the little Audi is becoming slightly less popular than it once was.