The outgoing TT is acknowledged by Audi as a style icon first and foremost. The claim is that the mk2 TT will offer a keener driving experience, despite quattro versions retaining the current car's 50:50 torque split where other sporty four-wheel-drive Audis now divide the torque 40:60 front to rear.

The handling improvements are attributed to a number of factors, starting with the fact that the TT now features a lightweight aluminium spaceframe under the skin at the front, aluminium body panels (except the doors and tailgate - they're steel), and many aluminium suspension components. As a consequence of this diet, the four-cylinder TT weighs 60kg less than its predecessor, despite being longer and wider.

The new TT's centre of gravity is also lower, with weight now distributed 58 per cent front, 42 rear. The bodyshell is 50 per cent more rigid.

The steering is electro-mechanical to increase feel and stability, and all the suspension has been redesigned, with MacPherson struts and lower wishbones at the front and a derivative of the current Golf's multi-link arrangement at the rear.

In common with the outgoing model, the new TT needs a rear spoiler to assist high-speed stability, although this time around it's an extendable wing. The speed at which it will rise on UK cars has yet to be decided.

Available as a £1150 option will be Audi's electro-magnetic semi-active damping system that debuted on the Roadjet concept car and is being marketed as Audi Magnetic Ride. Suspended in the oil inside the dampers are thousands of small metal particles that react when an electro-magnetic current is passed through them, altering the viscosity of the oil. The dampers are continuously adjustable according to the under-tyre road conditions, and because the system operates on each individual wheel it also provides a degree of active anti-roll control.

At launch there'll be just two engines - the aforementioned 247bhp V6 and a 197bhp turbocharged 2-litre FSI four-cylinder that will initially be available only with a front-wheel-drive drivetrain. That won't be the end of the engine story, however, because as well as the inevitable variations on the four-cylinder theme and the obligatory (for Europe, at least) turbodiesel, there's the promise of a more powerful unit at the top end of the range. Audi won't yet say precisely what this will be, but head of concept development Dr Ulrich Hackenberg confesses that it will be a gutsier V6 as a V8 won't fit. He also says that 'a more powerful TT would help bridge the gap to the forthcoming R8', the mid-engined, Lamborghini V10-powered supercar that Audi will unveil later this year. Asked whether this could be an RS TT, Hackenberg says, 'everything is thinkable; the car could certainly take such a treatment.'

Hackenberg also admits that a stripped-out version of the TT, like the existing Sport model, could be easily done, but that it doesn't feature in the immediate plans for the car. The next significant development (beyond actually launching the coupe) will be the roadster that debuts next March.

Although the new TT is a beautifully executed evolution of a classic design, Audi's head of design, Walter de'Silva, reveals that the idea of completely changing the coupe's looks was mooted in the early stages. 'That took some weeks of discussion,' he says, 'but in the end we all agreed that we should evolve the original design, and I'm really happy that we did it. What we have now is not only a good-looking sports car, it's a sports car that looks like an Audi.'