Audi TT one of the Best From this Decade That Changed the Auto Industry

The Audi TT first debuted as a concept in 1995 and for the next eight years existed as a tomboyish kid sister to the A4 and A6. It wasn’t particularly fast — a mere 178 horses from the base 1.8 liter four-cylinder engine — and it gained a reputation as a car that offered more show than go.

In 2003, the TT made history when it became the first production car sold worldwide to offer what Audi called the Direct Shift Gearbox — an electronically-controlled manual transmission with dual clutches that outsmarted even the most seasoned drivers. One clutch controls first, third, fifth and reverse while the other handles second, fourth and sixth. That allows for seamless, 0.2 second shifts, since up- and downshifts are “pre-loaded” even while the transmission remains in gear.

Sure, Citroen invented the technology back in the ’30s and Porsche tried it on the track in the ’80s, but advances in computing made a production version possible in time to revitalize the TT. When it debuted, Car and Driver said the DSG “will soon become the transmission of choice across a broad swath of the automotive landscape.” Today, nearly every car in the Volkswagen Group lineup has one as an option, and dual clutch transmissions are cropping up on Hyundai concepts and Ford subcompacts.

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