Tough, timeless and great to drive, the Mk1 Audi TT is a terrific used buy. There are many variants but one of the most interesting is the 1.8 T Sport quattro, launched in 2005.
Its four-cylinder engine made 237bhp and 236lb ft, which is impressive by any standards, but a weight-loss regime stripped out the rear seats, climate control, parcel shelf and spare tyre to save 50kg, taking the weight to 1390kg. Not quite feather-light but enough for 0-62mph in 5.9sec.
Audi didn’t stop there. It relocated the battery to the back of the car to improve weight distribution, fitted stiffened and lowered suspension and a rear strut brace and installed a couple of hard-shell Recaros. As a final aesthetic flourish, the roof was painted black.
New it cost £29,995, but today the most expensive are around half that while the cheapest we saw was £3995 for one with 168,000 miles. Somewhere in the middle at £7200 is a rather fetching 2006-reg example with 81,000 miles. The private-sale car, which has been kept in a heated garage, has a full service history and is finished in red and black. It’s had a new cambelt and water pump, and a new clutch, says the seller.
Were we seriously interested, as with all TTs we’d check it’s been fed a healthy diet of 5W-30 fully synthetic oil and that the Haldex traction unit has had fresh oil every 20,000 miles. Unless it’s been repaired, rust isn’t usually an issue with aluminium-bodied Mk1s. Instead, we’d check the suspension is bearing up along with the interior, which can take a hammering from those stiff springs and dampers.
Smart Fortwo 1.0 Brabus Cabriolet, £4000: Back when Smart looked like the future came the hot 88bhp Brabus. It could hit 62mph in 9.9sec and, to handle all the poke, the dampers and springs were made firmer. Our find is a 2008-reg with 47,000 miles.
