Objectively, new cars are better than ever. They’re also more homogenous, more gadget-laden, heavier, and more sanitized than ever before. No wonder, then, that the restomod business is absolutely booming. From million-dollar Porsches to carbon fiber Chargers, it seems the only limit to customizing the old cars we love is how deep our pocketbooks go. This Audi TT is a little bit different, however. Not only is it not a high-dollar Singer or Guntherwerks or Eagle, but its styling alterations are unbelievably well-executed.
It’s wild to think of the original Audi TT as a car that’s capable of being restomodded, but they’re getting up there in age now. Production of the coupe kicked off in February of 1998 with the roadster following eighteen months later, meaning the earliest drop-top TTs are about to become 27-year-old machines. What’s more, the vast majority of them were simply used as cars, racking up mileage and weathering in. Call it nostalgia, but I could see why someone with deep pockets would want to wind back the clock with a comprehensive overhaul. Especially when it comes to paying tribute to the Audi TTS concept car shown at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show.
At first glance, it almost looks like this particular TT hasn’t really changed aside from the addition of concept-aping fender vents and a new coat of paint. It doesn’t have the TTS concept’s cut-down windscreen or center-lock wheels, although the box-fresh appearance definitely fulfils the “resto” part of the restomod term. However, the team at Dutch outfit Autoforma has been hard at work on the little details, and once you really study this car, it’s easy to gain an appreciation for the end result.
For one, the production TT roadster featured an upholstered tonneau cover to hide its stowed top mechanism, but this TTS Roadster restomod deletes its top mechanism and pulls from the concept car with a one-piece, flush-fit, color-matched tonneau. It’s a custom-fabricated panel that seems to have required shaving a whole bunch of trim in order to achieve the desired finish, but Autoforma didn’t stop there. It blended the filler panel between the tonneau cover and the trunk lid with the quarter panels for a seamless look, although there has been a sacrifice in the process: I don’t see a third brake light perched atop the filler panel anymore. Hmm.
Moving around the side of the TTS Roadster restomod, the big change beyond the concept car fender vents is a spindly new set of manually adjustable mirrors sprouting from the front quarter-lights. It’s a subtle alteration, but one that required some serious work considering how the standard TT mirrors mount to the doors. We’re talking filling the mounting holes for the factory mirrors, then doing some glass fabrication to make the new units bolt on, at the minimum. Proper fabrication to pay homage.
Of course, the alterations don’t stop with the roof setup and mirrors. The grilles in the front valence are a little bit smaller to match the concept car, the headlight washers on the front bumper have been shaved for a cleaner look, the rear valence has been reworked to fully surround a revised set of exhaust tips, the aerial’s been shaved, and the late-addition rear spoiler has gone in the bin. The result is a car that almost looks factory, right until you put it next to a truly stock example.
What Autoforma’s done is create one of the more tasteful restomods in recent memory. It hasn’t been dramatically changed, just massaged to be both a subtly better-looking version of itself and a proper concept car throwback. The TTS Roadster restomod displays a great deal of reverence, and while its greyscale exterior isn’t the brightest colorway, the end result looks like a proper missing link between the 1995 concept car and the production model. Sadly, Autoforma is only making one, commissioned by a lucky client.
Top graphic image: Autoforma
I’m a big fan of the first-gen TT and have driven a few in different specs. Yes, I know it’s just a Golf underneath, but so the F what? It’s nice! It feels and looks special in a way that not many cars manage.
I know (from experience) that old Audis are expensive to maintain (in general, your individual/anecdotal experience may differ) and the TT in particular is a pain in the arse to service/repair due in part to the tight packaging. I personally much prefer the looks of the hardtop TT, but if you never raise the top, the convertible looks nice too.
This modification is tastefully restrained, though I can’t imagine personally having enough money and the desire to do it to a TT I owned. But it’s a big world, and at least a few people will be into it enough to justify the expense.