AUDI has long been synonymous with fast diesels.

The premium German brand is gunning for a third consecutive win this weekend with its R10 turbo race car, which made history in 2006 when it became the first diesel-powered car to win a major motor race. And, earlier this year, the 5.9-litre V12 twin-turbo diesel R8 concept displayed at the Geneva Motor Show may make it to production too. For now though, Audi is offering the world's first series-production diesel sports car.

Unveiled last month in Munich, the TT TDI sports coupe boasts 170 hp and 350 Nm of torque.

Diesel's advantage over petrol is well-known - it offers better mileage and superb low-end
torque. This two-litre four-cylinder turbocharged direct injection diesel model will do the
century sprint in 7.5 seconds, yet gives 19 km per litre - almost twice the fuel economy of
its petrol equivalent. That means almost 1,000 km between fill-ups.

The 1,370 kg TT TDI feels light on its feet with immediate response to the flexing of your
right foot. However, it does seem to get 'breathless' fast - something you may not be used
to in a 'sports car'. That's because the torquey TT TDI's power delivery is too linear and
the power peaks at just 4,200 rpm. It doesn't emit the right soundtrack either, although it
is uncharacteristically smooth and refined for a diesel.

Maybe all that is required is a bit of mindset reprogramming for the driver and power
delivery tuning for the Audi engineers.

But, with rising pump prices and the July 1 cut in the supplementary tax on diesel-powered
cars from four times the road tax to $1.25 per cc of engine displacement, now would seem to
be the perfect time to give diesel a chance. To overcome the noisy and smoky image of old
diesel vehicles, Audi will introduce a test fleet of up to 10 diesel-powered cars from its
model line-up at the end of the year.

"We hope to make an impact on the diesel market and our target is to have 5 per cent of our
total 2009 sales made up of TDI cars," reveals Reinhold Carl, managing director of Audi
Singapore.
About half of all Audi cars sold worldwide are diesel-powered.

In 2009, Audi will move the goalposts yet again with the world's cleanest diesel engine in
the Q7 and A4 - the Ad Blue 3.0 TDI. This ultra-low emission system combines a complete
package of innovative features, including an exhaust gas system that sprays a liquid -
AdBlue - into the catalytic converter to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by up to 90 per
cent. Whether the entire Audi model range will be available in Singapore is up in the air. But one
thing is for sure - as the Audi TT TDI shows, performance diesel power has come of age.

Audi TT TDI
Engine: 1,968cc turbodiesel
Gearbox: 6-speed automatic transmission
Max power: 170 hp @ 4,200 rpm
Max torque: 350 Nm @ 1,750-2,500 rpm
0-100 kmh: 7.5 secs
Top speed: 226km/h
Estimated price: $210,000
Distributor: Premium Automobiles Pte Ltd. Tel: 6566-1111