It’s hard to fathom, but it’s been a full 20 years since the launch of the TT Concept design in 1995. I remember thinking that, along with the Aluminum Space Frame concept car from the year prior, it was going to be fairly unlikely that we would ever receive a production version of the slinky coupe. Styling was inspired by pre-war Auto Union record setting race cars, and inside was a revolution that hinted at some of the stellar interiors that Audis would henceforth be equipped with. It was pretty shocking, then, in 1998 when Audi announced that you’d be able to buy nearly the identical car to the show version. Initially available pre-mass production through the Neiman Marcus catalog in Christmas of that year, the first 100 Audi TTs were all identical. They were 180 horsepower front drive 5-speeds all colored Nimbus Grey with Moccasin Red baseball leather interiors and chrome 6-spoke wheels. Mostly an appearance package with no performance changes, they were nonetheless immediately collectible and in hot demand as the first of a new generation of Audis that hinted at a paradigm shift in the company:
