Available magnetic-ride adaptive dampers.
The Audi TTS (MK3.5) is the mid-step hot TT: the EA888 2.0-liter turbo four in a hotter US tune (288 hp), quattro standard, a 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch, and available magnetic-ride adaptive dampers. It sits between the base 2.0T and the five-cylinder TT RS as the sweet-spot quick TT for the money.
Europe kept pushing the facelift TTS harder (306 PS for 2019-2020, then 320 PS for 2021-2023), but the US TTS stayed on its 288 hp tune and left the American market before those later bumps arrived.
In the US the TTS makes 288 hp versus the base TT's 228 hp, with standard quattro and available adaptive dampers, so it's meaningfully quicker in a well-rounded way. Note the European facelift TTS went further, to 306 and later 320 PS, but the US car stayed at 288 hp and was withdrawn before those updates.
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