2008 HPA Audi TT

THE BUILD UP of this machine actually started in Germany where it was painted custom Lamborghini Gallardo orange before being shipped overseas to HPA Motorsports where the tuner completely rebuilt the 2DO8 Audi TT from the ground up.

Undefhood, the stock 3-2-liter V-6 was transformed with HPA's FT-550 twin turbo modification. The compression ratio was dropped from 11.3:1 to 8.3:1 so the engine wouldn't grenade ~if when on full boost (17.4 psi). Force-feeding the engine are two Garrett/HGP R25 ball-bearing turbos, along with Race Grade connecting-rod bearings, a castaluminum short-runner intake manifold, dual air-to-air sidemount inteircoolers, proprietary silicone boost plumbing, and a high-flow fuel-supply system. Twin 6Omm downpipes have been added along with 100-cell count low-restriction catalysts and stainless 88mm exhaust with bypass valves.

Getting this 565-horsepower beast to hook up was no problem with Audi's fantastic AWD system, but trying that with a stock S-tronic transmission is downright insane. HPA popped in performance clutch packs and a reprogrammed mechatronic. upping the launch control revs from 3000 rpm to around 5000, depending on your needs, while a generation 2 Haldex sport controller helps evenly distribute all that power.

	2008 Audi TT 3.2	2007 HPA Audi TT 3.2
Power/torque	250-hp/236 lb-ft	565-hp/500 lb-ft (est)
0-60 mph	5.7 sec	3.5 sec
0-100 mph	16.1 sec	8.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.4@94.6mph	11.8 sec@120mph
Braking, 60-0 mph	111ft	111ft
Latera; acceleration	0.92g (avg)	0.94g (avg)
MT figure eight	26.1 sec@0.69g (avg)	25.2sec@0.79g (avg)

The KW Variant 3 coilover suspension features three individually adjustable components that Improve the TT's handling without causing a harsh ride. While 365x34mm front discs with eight-piston calipers and 335x22mm rear discs hidden behind the color matched 19-inch Moda MD3 wheels wearing Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 255/35ZRI9 perform stopping duty. LSD provided the Lamborghini-style doors.

On acceleration runs, the HPA TT keeps you pinned back hard, and on our figure-eight course, it feels as smooth as stock but with better numbers. While It enters the corners nicely, rotates well through the center, and explodes out of the exits, too much throttle mid-corner will still induce a front-end push-nothing a right foot modulation won't cure.

HPA has again given us a truly amazing machine, a complete package. The tuner didn't add just performance, but exterior styling and interior refinement as well. It'll cost you-about $60,000 for the upgrades-but you'll be able to beat almost anything on the road.