The Audi TT has been many things to many people. The first-generation TT was a daring design concept built as a shot across the bow of Mercedes-Benz. Since designers were more concerned with looks than actual driving dynamism, it didn't drive as well as it looked.

The second-gen took the sporting intentions of the form to another level, better aligning it with athletic and sure-footed Audi brand. Funnily enough, while the second TT drove better than the first, it lots some of its distinguishing design features in its cross-training.

Now, however, there's the third-gen TT, which aims to be both astonishingly good looking, with lines inspired by the R8 supercar, first-gen TT and the Bauhaus, but also sporty as any other modern car that shares the Audi moniker. But has it succeeded? Audi had me out to the Oregon wine country to find out for myself.

Plane-Inspired

While the exterior of the new TT takes inspiration from the first and blends it with both present and future Audi lines, the new interior is entirely its own creation ... one with a jet plane influence.

Many car brands claim to be inspired by jets. Saab used to claim it. MINI says its interiors draw elements from jetfighters. And now Audi's TT claims it, too. Where the others were just grasping at straws, however, Audi has succeeded.

The dashboard, for instance, when viewed from above, replicates the shape of an airplane wing, and the central air vents mimic three jet turbines jutting out from underneath it. That's just the beginning of the jet-inspired design theme, however. The real crown jewel of the interior is the new Virtual Cockpit.

The Virtual Cockpit is a large, high-resolution color screen that sits in the dash just behind the steering wheel in the place of an instrument cluster. Not only does it replace the tachometer and speedo, it also supplants the need for a mid-dash-mounted infotainment screen.

This big, bright screen cleans up the interior lines, limiting visual clutter, and also keeps the driver's attention right in front of him or her, closer to the road ahead. Accordingly, every essential task or essential screen can be performed or accessed through the steering wheel, which is intended to limit driver distraction.

While the Virtual Cockpit might seem overly showy and strange at first glance, I assure you, it is not. One quick moment behind the wheel and drivers and passengers alike will quickly fall for the screen's outstanding graphics and the lightning speed of the system. For instance, if the driver sets the view just so, it will display Google Earth navigation images as the backdrop with the speedo and tachometer flanking either side. It is stunning.

It's not simply just a tech show inside the TT, though. The cabin is both engaging and comfortable, too. For such a compact car, big drivers will have plenty of room in every direction. And unlike previous TTs, which made occupants feel like they were sitting on the ground, the ergonomics of the third-gen are such that the driver sits upright in comfortable reach of the steering wheel with a clear view of the road ahead.

Statement

When I spoke to the new head of Audi design earlier this year, he revealed to me that, although he didn't personally design the new TT, he found it to be perfect. It was just the right amount of Audi quattro DNA mixed with sporting attitude and sophisticated Bauhaus simplicity. Having studied the car in the sun, in the shade, and even in the dark, I have to agree; it's a design for the ages. I especially love the big, grinning single-frame grille, which is accented by sharp and distinctive LED headlights on either side.

The first TT was nearly the same front to rear, which gave it much visual balance. Trying to recreate that aesthetic but while also imparting a more athletic stance, designers have made it look like the TT is rearing back a bit, ready to pounce. Of course, since it's a TT, Audi had to include protruding wheel arches and a brushed stainless steel fuel filler cap. And keeping it planted to the pavement both literally and figuratively, 18-inch wheels come as standard with optional 19s available as an upgrade.

It's this attention to detail and careful craftsmanship that makes the TT so versatile as a car. It's undeniably premium in its designs with an unapologetic sportiness. It shouts about neither attribute, however; it's subdued in a very Audi way. It makes a statement but without being verbose.

Driving

As I alluded to earlier, the 2016 TT takes lessons learned from the first but takes the breed to a new level of performance, which is best demonstrated in the bends.

Unlike other AWD performance cars on the road, which are front-wheel-drive biased, the 2016 Audi TT features a true quattro all-wheel drive system that sends power 50:50 front and rear. If it needs to, however, it can reroute that power 100 front or 100 rear. Not only that, the system was designed specifically for the TT and blessed with torque vectoring, which keeps the wheels in check and aids in its cornering keenness.

Lobbing the TT into veritable roadway slalom, I was absolutely astonished how it handled. Even without magnetic ride control, the standard springs absorbed roadway imperfections without even flinching, as the quattro and torque vectoring systems worked to keep the car hugging the hairpins.

There were many turns in which I entered double or triple the recommended speed, and the TT hung on with astonishing composure. There were even a few corners where the car handled better than I anticipated it might, as it was able to turn in harder and more sharply than I expected. This spoke volumes, as most cars perform below my expectations. Not the TT, it over performed.

It wasn't just the turning that delighted the senses; the engine and transmission delighted as well.

Powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, making 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, which is mated to a 6-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission, the TT coupe will do 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. The TT roadster, however, is slightly slower, requiring 5.6 seconds to reach 60 from a standstill.

Ripping through the revs, the 2.0 makes a very enlivening sound with just a split- second crackle emitted between gearshifts at full throttle. Taking into account the sounds, fantastic handling, well-weighted and quick steering, and strong braking, the 2016 TT easily outshone not only its predecessors but also its chief competitors, the Mercedes-Benz SLK and the BMW Z4.

That's what really sold me on the new TT; it's gorgeous to behold and great to ride in ... but it always has been. What pushed it over the top for me were its newfound - and class-leading - performance and versatility. It's truly a sports car you could comfortably use as both a weekend toy and a year-round runabout. It's versatile without compromise. And I can't wait to spend more time with it.

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