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This Decade-Defining Audi Is Proving Why ’90s Cars Are Becoming Future Classics That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked

Autoforma works its magic to honor one of automotive history’s most influential automobiles.

Rear view of a dark gray Audi TT convertible with red seats and dual roll bars.Autoforma
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By Chris Chin

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With ’90s automotive icons like the first-gen Audi TT surpassing the 25-year-old mark, they’re slowly finding their way back into the limelight in various ways. They’re also shockingly and inadvertently reminding some of us millennials of our age.

Said 25-year rule, by US federal DOT regulatory standards, makes them eligible for classic car status. That change in status also often catapults the cars back into relevance by collectability.

As such, some interesting restoration or restomod attempts often come out of the woodwork. Such is the case with this incredibly gorgeous and one-off done up by Autoforma.

Two Audi TT roadsters, one dark gray and one silver, with brown leather seats, parked on a curved concrete ramp.
This may look like a normal and nice, minty first-gen Audi TT Roadster, but it’s anything but.
Autoforma

The Dutch-based firm spruced up an old, creaky 1999 TT to make an OG TTS mockup, which pays tribute to one of the model’s first-ever and groundbreaking concepts. It’s as epic as it looks.

The first-gen TTS that never was

Two men standing near two convertible Audi TT cars, one silver and one dark gray, in a parking lot.
Autoforma designer and founder, Niels van Roij (right) and designer Jos Baijens (left), who came up with this TTS tribute.
Autoforma

If Autoforma sounds familiar, it’s the same Dutch firm behind another recent and epic restomod involving the Volvo P1800. Thus, the expectations are high for this TT rework.

Unsurprisingly, Autoforma has delivered. This time, the premise is simple. Because the Audi TT is now considered a classic and a collectible sports car (as if there aren’t enough things out there in the world to make you feel old), Autoforma decided to highlight the TT’s pivotal placement in automotive history as one of the most influential vehicles of all time.

Gray convertible car with brown leather seats driving on a spiral parking ramp.
The first-gen Audi TT is arguably one of automotive history’s most influential cars from the 1990s.
Autoforma

To do so, Autoforma took a 1999 TT donor car, gave it a thorough makeover and even made some upgrades along the way. The result is a tribute to the original Audi TTS concept from 1995.

When Audi first revealed the TT Concept in 1995, the Ingolstadt automaker also debuted the TTS Concept alongside. It essentially pitched both the preproduction versions of the TT Coupe and the Roadster (TTS).

Dark gray Audi convertible sports car with red seats on an airport runway.
Audi debuted the original TTS Roadster Concept alongside the OG TT Coupe Concept in 1995, but an actual sportier TTS wouldn’t arrive until the second-gen model.
Audi

But an actual, sportier TTS model wouldn’t arrive until the second-gen TT in 2008. Because a first-gen production TTS doesn’t technically exist, Autoforma went ahead and made its own as part of its hat tip to the car’s pivotal story.

Tipping its hat to the OG TTS Concept

Front view of a gray Audi convertible with red seats and a black grille parked in a lot.
The TT’s design is so avant-garde, it looks as fresh today as it did back during the new millennium.
Autoforma

Autoforma’s rework includes custom-made carbon fiber bodywork that mimics the exact designs found on the original TTS Concept. It also sports the same Nimbus Gray Pearl two-tone exterior.

Designer Niels van Roij even went as far as deleting the production TT roadster’s rear lip spoiler, integrated radio antenna, and third brake light, all to mimic the TTS Concept’s cleaner shape. Other highlights include low-profile side-view mirrors, newly redone front three-quarter panels with integrated side vents and a new rear lower diffuser.

1999 Audi TTS by Autoforma

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At first glance, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference from a standard production TT Roadster. But place the two side by side, and one can see how the changes add up.

Autoforma’s work isn’t just limited to the exterior. The company also reworked the ’99 TT Roadster’s inside with the same brown leather as found on the TTS Concept. The company removed the power soft top, essentially creating a TTS speedster.

Open black Audi convertible car door showing brown leather interior and steering wheel with Audi logo.
Autoforma even went as far as mocking up the TTS Concept’s original brown leather interior.
Autoforma

Underneath, Autoforma upgraded the suspension with a performance lowering kit, which also widens the vehicle’s axle tracks for a more aggressive stance. Though no details were spared regarding any engine upgrades.

But in 1999, the TT came with a base 222-horsepower 1.8-liter turbocharged four-banger. An upgradable 3.2-liter naturally-aspirated VR6 with 247 hp didn’t arrive until 2003. Both are from Volkswagen, which is unsurprising, given the TT’s VW’s Golf roots.

Arguably one of the most influential automotive designs of all time

Two Audi TT convertible cars, one silver and one dark gray, parked in an empty lot with red leather interiors.
Today, the original Audi TT is gaining traction among collectors and Audi fans, thanks to its affordable price and relative ubiquity.
Autoforma

When the Audi TT launched in 1998, it shocked the world with its very avant-garde design, both inside and out. It was a completely different take on vehicle exterior design that nobody had seen before.

Penned by the legendary Peter Schreyer, the TT, like many of Schreyer’s other designs during his tenure at Audi, was very forward-thinking. So much so that the TT influenced numerous other automakers’ design language.

Silver Audi TT coupe parked on a cobblestone street, viewed from above.
Today, the Audi TT remains one of the brand’s most definitive models.
Audi

Today, despite being almost three decades old, the TT’s futuristic aesthetic and allure remain timeless. Many other Audis from the era also still look as relevant on the roads today as they did back when the new millennium ticked over.

Because of this rooted and storied history, Autoforma wanted to highlight the TT’s unique and impactful design. Needless to say, the firm did a proper job of it.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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