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Driving the 415-hp Audi TT and 470-hp S5
Back in 1990, Roland Mayer had to be very brave to start a company devoted to the idea of a high-performance Audi. Those were tough times for Audi, particularly in the U.S. But Mayer stuck with it and now his range of speed equipment for various Audi models perfectly suits the success of some of the most desirable and gorgeous cars in the world. It's funny how a 415-horsepower Audi TT can turn your world around.
To find Motoren Technik Mayer GmbH, you dive off the German autobahn in Wettstetten, not far from Audi's headquarters in the medieval city of Ingolstadt. The MTM compound on Dr. Kurt Schumacher Ring has grown larger over the years, and now there are about two dozen people at work and two air-conditioned rooms with chassis dynamometers. Mayer spent his early years at Audi engineering the turbocharged inline-5 of the original Audi Quattro coupe, and it's left him with a taste for extreme statements ever since.
MTM's signature car is still the bizarre Bimoto, a 1,000-horsepower twin-engine Audi TT that reached a sustained speed of 232 mph in 2003 and recently reached 246 mph in preparation for an attempt to break 400 kph (249 mph). But these days MTM has a tuned version of every brand under the Volkswagen umbrella from Bentley to Škoda, and we spent a day in Wettstetten sampling some of the latest Audis.
Don't Settle for the Obvious
Now that the Audi R8 has grabbed so many headlines, Roland Meyer has wanted to build something of his own with matching performance. Of course, this car would also have to include some of the R8's jaw-dropping road presence. Why not simply build a faster R8? We get the impression that it would have been much too obvious.
For the MTM RTT, Mayer begins with the Audi TT coupe and its 250-hp 3.2-liter V6 with dual-clutch automated manual transmission. To this base, MTM adds a specially developed turbocharger and a low-restriction exhaust. The result is 415 hp at 6,910 rpm and 368 pound-feet of torque delivered at 3,400 rpm. If the powertrain features a six-speed manual transmission, MTM turns up the RTT's boost to deliver 433 hp.
The RTT is the same inside as a stock TT coupe, and that's fine by us, since the TT's cockpit is chock-full of rich leather and handsome metal trim. Slapping faux carbon-fiber on the dash or installing some disco ball shift knob would only ruin a good thing.
Externally, the RTT isn't quite as subtle, and the gaping grilles front and rear definitely give the RTT a menacing stance that the normal TT lacks. The four chrome exhaust tips projecting out of the rear bumper are a nice touch, although the two-tone paint treatment of deep purple and gray tells you more about the German market for tuner cars than you want to know.
A TT That Thinks It's an R8
At first, the MTM RTT is as docile and user-friendly as any TT coupe. Once you light it off, the turbocharged V6 has a stronger rasp, which quickly settles down to a surprisingly subdued burble. We click the S-tronic gearbox into manual mode for the first couple of miles and reacclimate to using the shift paddles on the steering wheel. Once free of traffic, we click the left paddle toward us to select 1st gear and slam the gas pedal to the floor.
The force with which the RTT blasts down the road is shocking. MTM says it gets to 60 mph in only 4.1 seconds, some 0.3 second faster than the R8, and there's no electronic policeman in the engine computer to keep it from reaching a top speed of 175 mph. The V6 simply erupts into a sharp mechanical roar as the tach needle streaks to the 7,000-rpm redline, barely leaving time for us to click 2nd, then 3rd and 4th gears before finally slapping into the rev limiter.
For a turbocharged engine, the MTM V6 is remarkably responsive and free of turbo lag. Its torque output ensures that acceleration is fierce and — most important — very consistent throughout the entire rev range.
Tearing along quiet roads in the heart of the Bavarian countryside, the RTT feels terrifically poised, its tires planted on the road. The 265/35ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport tires and Audi's four-wheel-drive hardware offer stupendous grip. Only under full-throttle acceleration from a dead stop does the steering wheel jink left and right in our hands, as the traction control light glows on the dash and the little Audi struggles to put all its power down to the pavement.
MTM has wisely upgraded the brakes to match the RTT's speed. The vented and cross-drilled discs measure 14.9 inches in front and 12.2 inches in the rear, and great stopping power is complemented by excellent feel. Surprisingly the suspension has been left completely stock, but cornering performance doesn't seem to suffer and we're not sure MTM's available upgrades are worth the extra cash.
Super(charged) Audi S5
Roland Mayer hints that upgrades for the Audi R8 supercar are being planned, but for the moment, MTM's next major project is a supercharged version of the new Audi S5 coupe. This stylish new Audi should be equally adept at impressing valets as it is at delving into six-digit speeds on the autobahn.
MTM's version of this broad-shouldered coupe will have 470 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque, versus the standard S5's 325 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. The MTM S5 before us wears 21-inch MTM wheels and you can hear the bark of its sport exhaust, but unfortunately the installation of the supercharged engine is still a few weeks away.
Not one to pass up a test-drive (even of a work in progress), we take the S5 out on the same roads we tackled in the RTT. The 4.2-liter V8 has a deep grumble that gets better the harder you push the four-wheel-drive coupe. The six-speed manual is accurate, though gear engagement feels plasticky. A short-shift kit would be a nice option, as the low-effort throws between gears are awfully long, just as with most German cars.
The supersize tires and heavy wheels don't seem to harm the S5's comfortable ride, and the sport exhaust adds a nice dose of auditory attitude and probably a few extra ponies. But there's no doubt that the merely quick S5 can handle all the horsepower MTM throws at it. MTM expects its turbocharged version to reach 60 mph in 4.6 seconds (0.5 second better than stock) and have a top speed of 186 mph. The engine modifications along with upgraded exhaust, brakes and wheels add about $38,000 to the S5's base price.
Try an Audi S4 Cabriolet for the Road
To get a feel for MTM's supercharger trickery before our flight home, Roland Mayer tosses us the keys to a 2005 MTM-tuned Audi S4 Cabriolet, fitted with an older-spec supercharged 4.2-liter V8. Mayer admits that the S5's engine will pack more punch.
What this well-worn S4 proves is that the refined feel of the RTT is no fluke. The 334-hp thrust of the supercharged V8 is immediate, strong in any gear and refined across the entire rev range. There is not even a hint of annoying supercharger whine — Mayer admits that endless hours went into eliminating it.
Before we hand back the keys, we're plotting another visit to test the finished S5 and snag a drive in the wild Bimoto. The Audi R8 may be the cover car of the moment for countless auto magazines, but a day spent at MTM hints that this tuning company doesn't intend on sharing the spotlight for long.
MTM: It Spells More Horsepower for Audi -- Inside Line
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