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2022 Audi TT RS Heritage Edition is a stylish Ur-Quattro-flavored sendoff

Audi's five-cylinder sports car is going out with a heritage-inspired bang in America.

Chris Paukert Former executive editor / Cars
Following stints in TV news production and as a record company publicist, Chris spent most of his career in automotive publishing. Mentored by Automobile Magazine founder David E. Davis Jr., Paukert succeeded Davis as editor-in-chief of Winding Road, a pioneering e-mag, before serving as Autoblog's executive editor from 2008 to 2015. Chris is a Webby and Telly award-winning video producer and has served on the jury of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. He joined the CNET team in 2015, bringing a small cache of odd, underappreciated cars with him.
Chris Paukert
2 min read
2022 Audi TT RS Heritage Edition - all five colors
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2022 Audi TT RS Heritage Edition - all five colors

Five special cylinders, five special colors.

Audi

Audi has just revealed the 2022 TT Heritage RS Edition, a stylish sendoff to the highest-performance variant of its small sports car. Limited to just 50 examples, the Heritage Edition will serve as a a special five-color run-out to the model in the US, although the TT RS will live on in other global markets. Likewise, Audi's lower-power TT and TTS models will continue to be available in America for 2022.

Audi will build ten Heritage RS Edition examples in each of five colorways, all of which are are inspired by the automaker's fabled Ur-Quattro rally champion, a model that shared the TT RS' unusual turbocharged five-cylinder engine configuration and Quattro all-wheel drive:

  • Alpine white with ocean blue leather and diamond silver stitch
  • Helios blue metallic diamond silver leather and ocean blue stitch
  • Stone gray metallic with crimson red leather and jet gray stitch
  • Tizian red metallic with Havanna brown leather and jet gray stitch
  • Malachite green metallic with cognac brown leather and black stitch

2022 Audi TT RS Heritage Edition waves goodbye in five colors

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As far as final sendoffs go, the Heritage Edition treads firmly on the safe side of the ledger. It's more of a "trim and tape" special -- you won't find any meaningful performance upgrades beneath its rounded sheetmetal. That's just fine, though, as the standard TT RS is already one heck of a performer, with its 2.5-liter five-pot delivering 394 horsepower, 354 pound-feet of torque and 0 to 60 miles per hour in an estimated 3.6 seconds. (The TT RS shares this charismatic powerplant with the RS3 sport sedan, which will continue to be offered in the US.)

If you somehow happen to miss the distinctive color combinations, you can also spot a TT RS Heritage on the street by noting a subtle Heritage Edition etch script in the rear side windows. The etching also calls out the engine's one-two-four-five-three firing order. 

The TT RS Heritage also benefits from a long list of standard equipment, including 20-inch five-spoke Cutter wheels in a two-tone finish, OLED taillamps, rear-wing delete and Alu-optic trim on the mirror caps and front splitter. On the inside, the model comes standard with an Alcantara-clad steering wheel and shifter, along with RS logo floor mats wearing contrasting stitching.

Due at dealers in early 2022, Heritage Edition pricing starts at $82,495 including $1,045 delivery fee. That's a hefty $8,250 hike over the standard TT RS' $74,245 MSRP, but the potential added collectibility could be worth the premium in the long run.

Watch this: 5 cylinders of fury: The Audi TT RS is a damn fine machine