As children, we rarely mask our emotions. But that changes with age.
Even when they are as happy as clams, adults do not skip, cheer or clap their hands, unless they are at a football match, have won the Big Sweep or are just plain drunk.
But for some people, driving the new Audi TT RS could elicit a similarly unbridled response.
As the range-topping TT, the car is expected to have good performance numbers, and it has.
Hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox (currently the only transmission available), the car's 340bhp engine zips to 100kmh from rest in a Porsche 911-beating 4.6 seconds.
It looks like quite an immodest car too, with gigantic maws on its bumpers that not only feed cool air to its red-hot internals but also announce to all and sundry that this is the meanest TT yet.
The bigger-than-usual wing on its tail is probably what most other drivers will get to see briefly right after the Audi thunders past them.
My drive in the TT RS was brief, so an in-depth review will have to wait. Still, despite the short time, it is clear the car is addictive.
It is not the stylish cabin, which manages to have "TT RS" motifs stamped on every inch of fabric without appearing tacky. Or the absolute pace, which it has in spades.
It is the combination of noise and sheer verve coming from the special engine that Audi has reserved for the car.
The turbocharged inline-five power plant sounds like no other. Every note, every purr hints of excitement. Audi reminds us that its first such engine dates back to the 1980s, employed in the Ur Quattro.
Like its granddad, the TT RS has all-wheel-drive (but of course).
The experience shows. The TT RS makes a deep and slightly offbeat burble pulling out from low-revs, exploding to an angry growl as it nears 7,000rpm.
The exhaust note is similarly exciting, reducing grown men to giggling school girls. Honest.
If you do not believe me, take the car for a spin when it arrives next June.
Wear a bib, just in case you drool.
AUDI TT RS
Engine: 2,480cc 20-valve inline-5 turbocharged Transmission: Six-speed manual Power: 340bhp at 5,400rpm Torque: 450Nm at 1,600-5,300rpm 0-100kmh: 4.6 seconds Top speed: 250kmh (electronically limited) Fuel consumption: 9.2 litres/100km
(city-highway) Price: About $300,000 with COE (est) Distributor: Premium Automobiles
Audi is still crunching the numbers, but with the TTS already at $225,000, the RS could breach the $300,000 mark.
Pricey.
Then again, how much will you pay to feel young again?
stlife@sph.com.sg
The writer is editor of Torque, a motoring monthly published by SPH Magazines.
