The 1999 Audi TT Roadster was the first roadster built by the Audi brand.

It was based on a new platform, with new engines and a new approach. And it was a success.

In 1995, the TT Concept-car was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It was an unusual styling for the Volkswagen Group and the premium Audi brand. But it became reality in September 1998 when the coupe was launched, followed by the roadster in August 1999. And it had the name taken from the famous Tourist Trophy from the Isle of Man race.

The Audi TT roadster was built on the same platform with the Audi A3, the Volkswagen Golf, and the Skoda Octavia. But it featured a different styling. The rounded shape was unseen on any Audi before. It had a balanced design, with nearly the same proportions for the hood, cabin, and trunk.

Inside, the clean design was available with stitchings on the leather seats which looked like a baseball glove. No wonder, since the initial style was designed in Audi’s studios in California. It had room for two passengers.

Under the hood, there was a 1.8-liter engine with 5 valves per cylinder aided by a turbocharger. It was offered with two power outputs of 180 hp, and 225 hp, respectively. While the former was front-wheel-drive, the latter was available only as an all-wheel-drive. From the outside, the lesser version could be recognized by a single exhaust, while the top version had two pipes.