AND IN THIS CORNER...(News)

Byline: Wes Raynal

While Audi engineers were developing the flagship R8, they were also hard at work on another two-seater, this one at the opposite end of the lineup, the TT Roadster.

Like the second-generation TT Coupe (Audi TT, Take II, June 19, 2006), the roadster comes with a choice of either a 2.0-liter, 200-hp turbo four or a 3.2-liter, 250-hp V6 engine. The four is available only as a front-driver, at least initially, so if you want Quattro, you'll have to step up to the V6. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard with the four, while Audi's awesome six-speed double-clutch unit is a four-cylinder option and standard with the V6.

The car has grown over its predecessor, adding more than 5 inches in length, more than 3 inches in width, and nearly 0.5 inch in height. A 1.8-inch stretch in the wheelbase to 97.1 inches helps add interior space and luggage capacity. Despite being bigger, the roadster's weight is 2849 pounds, only 33 pounds more than its predecessor and 77 pounds heavier than the coupe.

The roadster's top is fabric, Audi choosing to buck the trend toward folding hardtops. A complaint about the old TT was its floppy chassis, so this time around, Audi stiffened the car's aluminum space frame with beefed-up aluminum side sills and added strength to the A-pillars with a thickened steel tube in the ...