McTTRS

2023 Audi TT Roadster Final Edition brings the retirement party to the U.S.

Goodwood Green paint and Palomino leather nod to the first-gen icon.

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/11/06/...rty-to-the-us/

Vegas-roadster

I have mixed feelings about this edition. I love the green paint with brown interior. IMO it should have been offered frequently during the life of the TT but was never seen in the Mk 2 or Mk 3 except for Audi Exclusive or special editions. Over most of the life of the TT, Audi of America's "color" choices were obviously made by the Amish. We had a red, a blue, a "color of the year" like yellow, and the rest were lots of shades between white and black. Interior color choices were always very restrictive, usually black and the "color of the year". and the choices of paint for the color of the year was always limited. For example, the Mk 1 ballglove interior was offered in some shades of white/gray/black but not all? You could not order a brown interior with yellow paint which most folks think is a classic color combination. A brown convertible top was never offered. All in all, the TT color choices were always far inferior to its competition (except for the ballglove interior) which didn't help sales. BTW, Europe TTs did had far more color options. So why this rant? This Final Edition would have been perfect with a brown top. Instead, we get a faded gray which looks out of place. A black top would have been a better choice but brown would have been awesome.

The final edition comes with mag ride as standard equipment but given the problems with the Mk 2 mag ride, it is something I would avoid. (We are now approaching the time frame when mag ride issues might start to show up on early models of the Mk 3 if it follows the same time pattern as the Mk 2). Also, most folks don't like the ride of 20" rims. If I bought this car, I'd keep my 19" rims from the black optic package. And the claim that the seats are a tribute to the original ballglove is a joke. They are merely brown seats with contrasting yellow normal stitching. The only thing resembling the original ballglove is the colors as they are nowhere near as striking as the Mk 1 seats.

Given the extremely poor sales of the TT in recent years (the average USA dealer only sold 2-3 last year and most of those were the RS), I'm curious on what they will charge for this edition? I expect them to ask a premium but I think they will sit on lots for a long time. So far, past TT "special editions" have not commanded a premium in the resale market.

McTTRS

For me, it seems understandable why in a unique market because of amongst other things US special requirements regulations and weak model sales history as you point out, that choses of color and finishes might be limited.

As a proud owner of a MK3 with Mag-ride and upgraded suspension controller equipped which is able to fully exploit mag-ride shocks in a user definable/changeable manner, I think mag-ride is the cats bum. As to their reliability, the MK3 has now been out for 8 years (I got a 16 launch edition TTS in October of 15) with no big problems reported so far. When do think we might start seeing lots problems in MK3 mag-ride?

Barekat

The final editions North of the border were coupes. We picked up a white TTS to replace the Nissan Z that never arrived. We waited 21 months for the Z but mismanagement at Nissan forced us to buy something better.

Evan Mair

So beautiful. Showed it to my wife who said she didn't like the color. I will be serving divorce papers soon.....

McTTRS

What some might call 'British Racing Green' with saddle tan interior is my opinion is the most classic sports car color combination of all time (excepting Ferraris of course) especially for Brits and perhaps a little too macho for the ladies.

Vegas-roadster

The failures are shock leaks and are due to age, not miles. Lots of Mk 2 posts about cars with about 20K miles, about 7 years old and leaking shocks. The R8 of that era had similar problems with mag ride.
Since Audi manufacturers other paints and interiors to the rest of the world, I don't think there is any excuse to impose limits in North America. It's not like a dealership, or even Audi's US warehouses, have interior parts in stock. For the past 10 years if I needed anything that was not generic, like a seat trim, it was ordered from Audi in Germany. On the other hand, limiting engines and drivetrains does make sense since each has to be certified before sale here and those certifications are very expensive.

Vegas-roadster

Coupes make better sales sense since Mk 3 roadsters have not sold well, particularly in Canada

Vegas-roadster

That was my first impression too.

McTTRS

The MKIII coupe chassis is much more rigid than the MKII (jack up a corner and the other wheel on the same side comes off the ground). One might think (have not driven one) that the MKIII convertible would also have better rigidity than the MKI or II which as you know is key for convertible handling.

Has anyone driven a MKIII convertible and does it share coupe rigidity characteristics? I have driven both the MKI and II convertibles and was put off at the time by chassis rigidity compared to the coupes.