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Audi R2
Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Back in May, I was a bit harsh on the Audi TT and expressed hope that they might produce a corker with the Audi TT RS.

I do fear the underlying chassis will ultimately let it down... but this might not be cause to drop Audi from your shopping list if you are in the market for a two-seater sports car for under A$200k.

Especially if early rumors of the R2 are to be believed - which according to Auto Express, they are.

These rumors indicate all the usual stuff you'd expect from Audi: 4-wheel drive, 2.0L naturally aspirated and 2.5L turbo engines (both from the Audi TT and TT RS) with a choice between six-speed manual and seven-ratio R tronic semi-automatic gearboxes.

All pretty standard really. So what sets it apart from the Audi TT and TT RS ?

Well that would be it's mid-engine layout à la big brother Audi R8. This in turn explains the gaping side vents shown in the illustration below.

Let hope the R2 does get launched in 2012 but I suspect it'll have a higher asking price than what Auto Express suggest. A starting price of around £30k puts it in Audi TT 3.2 V6 territory and well short of the TT RS' £42k price. Given the R8 is around £75k, I'd suggest the R2 would lob in around £45k (about A$105k before our draconian luxury car taxes are applied) to keep it above the TT RS and near to the Porsche Boxster S. In fact, it's entirely possible that this is a 2012-2014 replacement for the TT as it would otherwise create an overly broad product lineup.