The unveiling of the TTS marked something of an anniversary for Audi – ten years of TT. Yip, that's right, time flies when you having fun and the first TT hit the roads a decade ago. Sure the shape has evolved over time but the essence of a quality, compact and sporting drive has remained.

The TT has never been beast, and that is why for me the surprise factor has always been the pace and pleasure that is naturally on tap, none more so than in the model’s flagship TTS.

When you climb into a large-engined car like an RS 4 or RS 6, you immediately feel the shove from under the hood and know that a quick Kyalami lap will be on the cards. The TTS, although by no means under powered, doesn’t kick you as hard and give you a sense of brutal pace.

Even with a whirling turbo, 195kW and 350Nm on tap, power delivery is smooth, deceptively quiet and combines with the quattro system, which sees to it that traction is no problem exiting corners, to make a flying lap seem almost sedate.

Gone are the days of horrid under-steering all-wheel-drive monsters with the TTS’ standard Audi Magnetic Ride Adaptive Damping System (obviously set to its harshest, lowest and most dynamic setting) and some clever drive distribution, the TTS front end goes where you want it to. If you feel the need for more excitement, a brief feather on the loud pedal lightens up the rear end in a predictable manner and the slightest steering inputs are all that is needed.

With lots of aluminium bits and weight saving tactics in play, the TTS weighs in reasonably light at 1395kg. This might have seen to it that the engineers didn’t feel the need for some bigger anchors but regardless they did, so you see some tasty gloss black callipers and 17-inch vented discs poking out from behind the 18-inch wheels. Unfortunately, while the brake pedal offers plenty of feedback and the clamps work brilliantly under normal road conditions they did overheat quickly (after three laps in our case) on the track.

Following a few cool down laps we headed back out onto the road. The rumble strips that make up the R511 proved seriously uncomfortable in the sportiest suspension setting so a push of the button was needed. In the softest setting the ride was more than bearable and it didn’t get so sloppy that you felt you were driving a waterbed.

Interior comfort and ergonomics are as per usual Audi, brilliantly simple yet extremely functional. Fully adjustable Audi specific buckets hug the front passengers and tip to allow relatively easy access to the back. Finding the correct driver position, while being able to reach the dash controls, is a breeze. Bring me anyone who says the mix of Alcantara, Aluminium and Nappa isn’t the class leader.

Yet like most of the German brigade, the TTS interior downside is in the spec department. Don’t get me wrong, it is well specced with creature comforts, but there are some real desirables like a navigation system, Bose sound and an iPod connection that’ll see you coughing a bit more cash.

The exterior appeal might not be so clear cut, but decked out in a lurid yellow and fitted with S-Line go-faster bits mean that it’ll turn heads in most instances. Nonetheless, the TTS is the fastest and best TT so far. It is an all round package that gives some of the more traditional performance coupes a surprise wake up call.

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