Porsche 924S - An Old Friend Returns

Would you like to buy back one of your favourite cars? Do you regret selling any of your old favourites? I sold my 1986 Porsche 924S three years ago. Today I bought it back.

The chap selling it had bought it from the bloke I'd sold it to as a project car but due to work pressures he felt he wasn't spending enough time with it to justify keeping it. It'd been off road for several months. After he placed the ad on eBay someone pointed it out to me via twitter. I got in touch and we agreed a deal.

When I sold in early 2014 it it was my daily driver. Basically it was in good condition but there were many small things that weren't working or were malfunctioning. I sold it in order to buy something modern, something reliable (although the 924S had never broken down) and something I could open the driver's door on.

Of all the inconveniences on the 924S the driver's door handle mechanism was the biggest pain. The clasp broke the day after I bought it and a replacement Porsche handle and mechanism was around £200. I couldn't afford that so bought a Mk2 Golf handle for a fiver which was almost, but not quite, the same.

When I went to pick the car up this morning the handle was still knackered. The seller had tried his best to fix it but you still have to leave the window open to open the door - or lean in from the passenger side.

Aside from that it felt great. The journey home was 110 miles. I'd forgotten how loud it is on the motorway. At 80mph in fifth gear it's ticking over at nearly 4,000rpm and the stainless steel exhaust booms constantly. You have to raise your voice to talk over it.

At that speed the car used to feel quite floaty, as if its aerodynamics were working against it and pushing the front up, but this seems not to have been the case. The seller has had the tracking fixed and now it feels planted at any speed.

When I sold it the car the sunroof leaked but the seller has replaced the seals, and all the seals around the windows. As well as that he's replaced the seats with lovely body hugging ones - in spectacularly brown pinstriped velour. In fact he's replaced or updated an absolute ton of stuff. The full list is below.

As I drove the Porsche 924S home the one thing that reminded me of why I loved it was the gear change. Porsche always makes a great gearbox and in the 924S the feel of the gear change communicates the brute nature of the car's mechanicals into the cabin. If you place your hand on the lever whilst at speed you can feel the rotational force of the engine buzzing away in your hand.

The 924S will now be my second car rather than my only car. I'll be able to spend time on it doing such things as fixing the dent it has acquired whilst out of my hands as well as trying to finally get the driver's door to open properly.

I'll report back on progress every now and again.

By Matt Hubbard

Full list of work completed by the chap who sold the Porsche 924S back to me (I have no idea what FPR means!):

Renew gear lever inner sealing gaitor
Service kit + 10w40
2x engine mounts (Meyle)
Fixed horn not working (corroded earth)
Minor oil leak (damp, no drips) on diff (output shaft seal)
Fixed headlight washers (just clogged)
Fixed power steering (new radiator)
Paint work + rust removal
New radio (bluetooth + handsfree kit)
Adjust handbrake
Fix rocker cover oil leak
Renew gear shift lever + bushing
Renew wipers
Clean all along clutch linkage (gear change is nice now)
Change transaxle oil with GL4 + renew plug
New PS fluid
Flush and renew coolant
Fit 2x transaxle output seals
Fit better steering wheel (old one worn around rim)
New pins for rear hatch
New distributor and rotor
Renew P/S wing mirror gasket
Fix heater control (new HCV needed)
Re-seal tail lights
Fix short / bad earth with interior lights + restore hbrake light
Fix power windows (new switches)
Fit new injector seals / filters
Renew dashboard lights with LEDs
Fit sound deadening (bonnet and boot)
New battery
New Distributor cap and rotor arm
New door handles
2x new tyres (front). All tyres have loads of tread and are Goodyear EfficientGrip
Tracking / 4-w alignment, fit 2x tyres
MOT
New seats
FPR
New ICV
New windscreen (old one was milky around edges)
New aerial
Porsche parts (misc - manif. gaskets + pipes)
New bonnet insulation

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The Great Motorcycle Battery Kerfuffle

It was the middle of winter but for once it wasn't raining, so I decide to take my Triumph Street Triple out for a spin

The Triumph in its lair

I keep the bike in the garage. Motorcycle batteries are quite small and lose charge quite quickly, especially when it's cold. They need hooking up to an electrical umbilical, or an optimiser, which maintains a constant trickle charge to keep the battery topped up.

Perfect for when you want to take the bike for a spin in mid-winter.

I had the time, it wasn't too cold, the roads were dry. Yes, I decided, I will go for a 10 or 20 mile spin to blow the cobwebs out of the bike and out of me.

In order to make sure everything would be fine I checked the bike over. It had an MoT (its first ever) in November and I'd changed the oil and filter at the same time. The Triumph never uses any oil between services so predictably the oil level on the stupidly designed screw-in dipstick was fine.

The tiny water reservoir for the cooling system is located under the seat. That was fine too.  I checked the tyres for pressure and they were fine.

Aside from a light sprinkling of sawdust (I've been making bird boxes out of off-cuts of wood in the garage) the bike was in fine fettle.

With one exception.  The battery was flat. Hmmm. I checked the optimiser. 2.3V and 0 amps. Despite the bike being only three years old it was on its third battery.

Bike batteries might not last long but the Street Triple seems to abuse its batteries particularly harshly, with the result that they don't last long. There are plenty of complaints on on-line forums about them. It just kills them.

I've previously had to bump start the bike (which can only be done with someone else pushing - I know, I tried doing it by myself for about 60 minutes). My old Yamaha Fazer could be bump started just by me pushing it along in gear and closing the clutch. The Triumph needs more speed than the rider alone can muster.

Anyway, back to the present. The battery was flat and was obviously dead. Bollocks.

I tried it another 24 hours on the optimiser but alone this time, out of the bike. Nothing. Not a single amp - or fraction thereof. Knackers.

So I bought the bike's fourth battery. Fortunately my local motor factors had one in and fortunately it didn't cost a great deal - £40.

Motorcycle battery manufacturers don't do 'elf n'safety. Take a look at the photos and you'll see that what you get in the box is the battery itself...and six tubes of a clear fluid.

The sulphuric acid is in the box

On closer inspection the fluid is sulphuric acid. A look at Wikipedia suggests sulphuric acid can cause severe burns, readily decomposes skin and other bodily bits, causes irreversible internal organ damage if ingested and induces permanent blindness if splashed into the eye.

And here it is in its full glory - eek, acid!

You know that girly screech Richard Hammond makes when he's mildly scared. That's the noise I made when I read the above.

Anyway, not wanting to be a girl (sorry, girls) and being a motorcyclist and therefore extremely tough and manly I got to it.

You have to rip the cap off the tubes of acid and turn them upside down, pierce the seal on the battery then leave the acid to pour down into the battery. Once that's done you have to remove the tubes and push a black cap on to the holes in order to seal the battery.

The operation proved to be a success. The actual pouring of the acid into the battery was straightforward but the cap seals very tight and just pushing it in place with your hands isn't enough so I had to gently push it in place with a hammer. It is during this phase that you are most at risk of death, blindness or both.

Pouring the acid into the battery is thankfully quite straightforward

Anyway the battery was now complete, acid and all. I put it in the bike and left it on the optimiser overnight.

The next day was a work day but at lunchtime the weather was reasonably dry and cold but not freezing so I thought I'd take the bike for a run.

Hoorah! It started first time!

I left it warming for five minutes whilst donning my jacket, gloves and helmet, cocked a leg over the seat and set off on a 15 minute dawdle round the local lanes.

It felt like heaven. A small taster of heaven but heaven nonetheless.

Yet again I have vowed to ride the bike more this year. Let's hope I do, it is a wonderful way to travel and just to experience and enjoy life.

By Matt Hubbard

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The Ball-O-Matic, The Carpet And The Perfect Garage

Having a garage means you can make it just right for your vehicles

The Ball-O-Matic of Perfect Placement doing a grand job

I moved into my house in September. It was the first time I'd ever had a garage into which I could fit a car.

Not only that I could fit my bike in it too, as well as a work bench and a bunch of cupboards, space for all those half empty bottles of oil that come in handy, as well as many, many cans of WD40, paint and, oddly, flea treatment.

Since I moved in I've personalised the garage. If you think about it a garage is just a big, cold space in which a man (or woman if she's so disposed) can put his stuff. It's very easy to fill it with junk so that the original purpose it was designed for, parking a car inside, becomes impossible.

So, with that in mind, I decided from day one I would make sure it was suitable to house the car and bike and that the workbench, which was in place when I bought the house, would remain clutter free and would be surrounded by all my tools.

The workbench, tools and bottles of oil and stuff

Once I'd cleared out all the junk left behind by the previous occupants (you wouldn't believe how much they left) and fitted the tumble dryer (with the hose poking out of the window) I rode the bike in and parked it near a plug point so I could leave it on an optimiser to keep the battery charged.

Then I drove the car in.

Three problems presented themselves. One was that the only way the car and bike would fit was with the front bumper of the TT touching the bike's rear tyre. This was not a good state of affairs - a slight nudge and the bike would go crashing down.

The solution was to get the jigsaw out and cut away a section of old kitchen worktop, which was pushing the bike toward the car, the previous owner had left, and on which I'd dumped a load of stuff. Having found the 'stuff' a new home and chopped the worktop the bike and car fitted grandly.

But the bike's front tyre then stopped me getting to the tumble drier. Bugger. I moved the old bedroom drawers in which I keep all my nails and screws from behind the bike and relocated it under the main workbench. 

Yes, that seemed to work. 

The bike now fits perfectly

Then came the matter of parking the car in the perfect position without having to get out and check it was far enough in and not too far forwards.

The solution to that was the Ball-O-Matic of Perfect Placement ™, which consists of a tennis ball attached to a length of string, hanging from the ceiling. I drive the car into the garage and stop at precisely the point the Ball-O-Matic touches the windscreen. I derive enormous satisfaction every time I use it. Hurrah!

Next up was the matter of the driver's door banging on the painted brick wall. The solution to that was a section of off-cut carpet cut to size and spray-glued (you should buy some, it's amazing stuff) to the wall.

Hey presto I can bump the door against the wall any number of times and it won't be dented, scratched or marked. More hurrah!

Hurrah for carpet!

The workbench is generally clutter free and the tools are usually where they are meant to be. Others might say it looks a mess but I know where everything is.

I recently made some bird-boxes for the garden on the bench and covered everything in the garage in a light dusting of sawdust. No matter, such are the travails of a man happy in his work.

Two things will happen this year that will throw the garage into disarray. One is that I have decided to learn to weld and will buy a welder. Two is that I'm selling the TT and will take delivery of a Volvo XC60 - which won't fit in the garage.

This could be seen as a disaster but no matter, I'm planning on buying a cheapo Mazda MX5 so the Ball-O-Matic will continue to be put to use, although its position will need to be fine tuned.

The garage might be out in the cold but it has good lighting and in the warmer weather of spring and summer I plan on spending many happy hours in it.

Garages are great

Tools, organised(ish)

By Matt Hubbard

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Not Many Miles Then Lots And Lots Of Miles In The Audi TT V6

Christmas was a real test for my Audi TT 3.2 V6. It had hardly any miles put on it, and then lots all in one go.

The TT in its garage

I moved house in September. Two benefits of moving are that the new house has a garage and it is close enough to my son's school that he can walk.

Which means a) the TT is nice and cosy at night and b) it doesn't get taken out on the school run. In fact because the old house was nowhere near anything and the new house is in a village I hardly drive the car out of necessity at all.

As well as the school I've two take-aways and two local shops within half a mile. Also, because 1,500 acres of woodland is a 10 minute walk I don't even have to drive to take the dog for a walk.

Until very recently I've worked from home so I haven't even had a commute.

Either I have to come up with an excuse to drive the car or it stays snug in its garage, keeping the bike company.

Sometimes if I can't be arsed walking I drive to the shop. This means two 560 metre journeys on a cold engine. The heater doesn't throw out any heat but the seat heats up just as I arrive at the Co-Op.

The TT's heated seats are lightning-quick in their efficacy. Set them to 2 and your bum is toasty in seconds, set them to 3 and you start to feel a little uncomfortable, turn them all the way up to 7 and your butt is on fire.

But lots of short journeys doesn't do a car any good so I try and walk as much as possible. The oil takes a while to get going and lubricate the engine, and it doesn't operate properly until it's hot. The 3.2 V6 in the TT has a chain driven cam so constant running cold doesn't do that much good either.

However, the car exhibited no signs of stress despite me not being arsed to walk many times. It's a great design and is solidly put together, and the V6 is pretty much unburstable - compare that with the potential self detonation that could happen at any time in a 986 Porsche Boxster S and I'm glad I plumped for the Audi.

One funny habit it has is as a result of its quattro four wheel drive system.

My driveway is at right angles to the road (obviously) and starts with a steep incline which then levels out as you hit the drive itself. This means to enter you slow to a crawl and turn hard left into it.

As I turn the tyres scrub a little. The diff mustn't be able to cope with the difference in distance (and therefore speed) of the front wheels and tyres so, because the outside wheel is travelling further than the inside and the differential isn't allowing enough difference in movement between them, they skid a little. It's tiny but noticeable, and is only perceptible on the front wheels.

The TT's four wheel drive is a Haldex unit. The front wheels are permanently engaged whilst a driveshaft to the rear diff is permanently rotating in time with the fronts'. The rear diff contains a clutch which locks on when the front wheels slip thus engaging the rear wheels.

It's a system that functions without you noticing. Despite having 250bhp the TT V6 never torque steers and will slide nicely from the rear if I bang the throttle down on a slippery surface. ESP isn't worth having as the quattro system tidies up any cack-handed driving.

Anyway, the car doesn't deserve to be driven just on short journeys so, happily enough, I took it for a long drive over Christmas.

There may be a teensy weensy amount of filter on this picture

My brother lives in Cheshire and I live in West Berkshire. My dad lives in south Wales.  In 48 hours I drove to my brothers house, partied then slept, then drove to my dad's to say hello then home again. Day 1 saw 189 miles in 5 and a half hours. The A34 was terrible, the M40 was dreadful, the M42 was absolute shite, the M6 Toll was absolute bliss and the M6 was a sheer bloody nightmare.

But through it all the car was a pleasure to drive.

Day 2 saw 320 miles from Cheshire to Laleston and back to West Berkshire. I was in a bit of a state but, again, the car was perfect. It returned an average of 29.6mpg despite day 1's stop/start traffic, which isn't bad from a V6.

It helps that the driving position is spot on. Also, the suspension is pretty good at speed, although it crashes over speed bumps.

Before and after the trip I checked all the car's fluids. It didn't use any oil at all, and never does outside of oil change time.

It's funny, I'm selling the TT soon, and replacing it with a new Volvo XC60 (I know - how different!?), and I don't miss modern driver aids in it yet when speccing my Volvo I'm glad it's got a decent screen with bluetooth, DAB, cruise control and parking sensors.

I can forgive a car for not having modern tech if it didn't have it fitted in the first place because it wasn't available when it was built, but for any car built in 2015 I would expect the aforesaid cruise control, DAB, bluetooth, parking sensors and all the modern safety features we've come to expect. But that's another subject for another blog.

Thanks for reading, have a great 2015 and happy motoring.

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - My First Ever New Car Will Be A Volvo

In my last fleet update I said I was going to buy a Golf GTi Mk5. In typical car enthusiast style I've changed my mind yet again.

You may recall I said I needed to sell my Audi TT and buy something with four seats and that, through a process of elimination, it was going to be a Mk5 Golf GTi.

In the same article, going through the various options, I said, "Not an SUV - I don't want one if it isn't a Range Rover or Volvo and I can't afford either."

For some of us the choice of car we run reflects the essence of our soul. We may not think we care what the neighbours think of what's sitting in the drive...but we do. And not just the neighbours. We care about what everyone thinks about our choice of car. When we're sitting in miles of traffic on a congested motorway we care what every other driver thinks about the car we're sitting in.

We want our wheels to be an extension of our personality, to show to the world that we carefully thought about it and selected a machine that not only provided for our needs but that differentiated us from every other person who has ever bought a car.

To a petrolhead choosing a car is a very important decision.

Which is why we can never make our bloody minds up.

Whenever I've driven a press car I've asked myself if I would want to buy that car for myself, my family, my circumstances. With most the answer is no. This is generally because it is too underpowered, too small, too impractical, not refined enough, because I could not afford it or for some small reason that renders a generally good car unfit for my personality and needs.

For example using purely forensic analysis the Toyota RAV4 is an amazingly capably car that I would never buy. Not because it's a Toyota (I'd buy a GT86 if it had decent rear seats and a hatchback boot) but because the interior isn't up to snuff. It's functional but has no flair.

Similarly the Maserati Ghibli fails on two counts - that of not being special enough for a Maserati and being outside my budget.

If I were choosing a car based purely on my personality I would buy a Lotus Evora or a Porsche 911. But neither has four seats, both are too expensive for me and neither would be suitable for ferrying the dog around.

Talking of the dog, she comes most places with me. Some cars are dog friendly and some are not. Mine has to be.

I chose a Golf GTi Mk5 because I couldn't afford a new car.

But, like any addict, I kept returning again and again to my obsession - the new car pages. I read my own reviews, I read the back pages of Autocar, I checked the financing on various cars.

Technically I could afford to lease a car but wasn't confident financially that I could make the payments over the two or three year contract. I've just never been comfortable signing up to something that commits me to be paying out dozens of months hence.

But then I realised something. The TT was paid for by a loan and until recently I was making monthly finance payments on my Triumph Street Triple. The bike is now 100% mine and if I sell the TT I can pay back the remainder of the loan.  Therefore, at minimum, I can afford the combined sum of the two, which is £370.

So, with renewed vigour, I spent hours searching leasing websites for a car with a low initial payment and monthly payments below £370.

The obvious choice was a Golf R. It was at number one in my top cars of 2014 and there are some seriously cheap deals available, but such is its popularity that if I placed an order in December 2014 it wouldn't even leave the VW factory in Wolfsburg until August 2015. I'm too impatient to wait that long.

Outside of a Golf my favourite car (that fits my needs) of the past couple of years is the Range Rover Sport, but monthly payments of that are in the area of £800.

An Evoque would be a substitute of sorts and is more affordable but for some reason lease payments are quite high.  Plus, if you want a Range Rover then you buy a Range Rover, not an Evoque.

Then my mind flashed back to the Volvo XC60 I'd driven to Paris in the summer. Volvos have the best interiors in the business and the XC60 is practical, comfortable, has an incredibly smooth ride and is more refined than most German cars. At the time I thought if I could afford one I would buy one for myself.

Remember what I said above? The only SUV I'd buy is a Range Rover or a Volvo. The XC90 is getting old and the new one is too expensive for me but I was wowed by the XC60.

Volvos used to be square and safe, then Ford bought the company and ruined it. Since shaking off Ford's shackles Volvo has emerged as a left field contender to the German big three. Having driven most of its product I've been consistently impressed by them.

I checked the lease pages. A few companies were offering staggeringly cheap deals, around 30% off. I found a deal from Stoneacre Motors for an XC60 D4 R-Design and emailed an inquiry.

A couple of days later and I'd placed an order for the car, in Power Blue with the optional winter pack, rear parking sensors and rain sensitive wipers. It's in my budget and will be delivered in early March.

Aside from a couple of company cars which I didn't choose this will be my first ever new car. I can't wait.

Oh, and as the XC60 isn't exactly a driver's car I'm already thinking that I should keep my oar in with a cheap MX5 Mk2. But first I've got to sell the TT.

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - I'm Going To Sell The TT And Buy A...

I recently wrote a blog entitled 'Why Can't I Ever Make My Bloody Mind Up About Cars' in which I spoke about the car enthusiast's curse of never being able to make a decision and stick to it. Well, this time I think I have.

I've owned my Audi TT 3.2 V6 for 8 months. I said it was a keeper and, all things being equal, it should be.

But all things aren't equal.  When I bought it I was freshly single and wanted to buy a coupe that looked good - a result of which was tiny rear seats but I didn't care back then. I only needed to transport my son and the dog.

But times change and now I increasingly have a need for four seats, which is difficult in the TT.  My 12 year old son and his best friend, who I ferry about from time to time, will fit in the car but one has to squash in the back and the other has to pull the passenger seat as far forward as it'll go.

Were someone else to travel in the TT then I'd have to push my seat all the way forwards and that's just not possible for a journey longer than a few minutes. If you've sat in the back of a TT you'll know it's pretty claustrophobic.

Four of us recently drove to Germany and back in a Range Rover Sport but I can't rely on having a press car all the time. When we next need to travel four up I might have to use my own car and that won't be much fun in a 2+2 coupe.

I'm going to have to buy something more sensible.

But what?  God I've been over and over this question in my mind for ever. Not an estate - too big, too sensible, too fuddy duddy. Not a saloon - I might need to put the dog in the boot. Not a convertible for the same reason. Not an MPV - I have a soul. Not an SUV - I don't want one if it isn't a Range Rover or Volvo and I can't afford either.

It'll have to be a hatchback. Damn.

There are some good hot hatches out there but I cannot see past a Golf.  BMW 1-series - great dynamics, looks like a pig.  Audi A3 - bit too dull. Seat - if I buy VAG I'll buy German rather than Spanish. Renault - hahahaha. Alfa - LOL.

Nope, a Golf it must be. My budget will be £6k and for that I can afford a 2006 Golf GTI. This is the Mk5 and has the 2.0 turbocharged engine. It'll sit four in comfort and five at a pinch, the boot is pretty  big and at the time Jeremy Clarkson said of it, "As a driver’s car the new GTI is just fantastic."

The big man isn't always right but in this case I'm pretty sure he is.  Paul Eldred's 'Living With VW Golf GTI MK5' article for Speedmonkey is a must read for anyone interested in the Mk5 GTI. In it he says, "...the car has pretty good handling and lived up to the hype that was around when the car was launched."

The big problem I have with the Golf is that it's front wheel drive. My last few cars have been Audi TT (4WD), Porsche 924S (RWD), BMW 323i (RWD), Audi S4 (4WD), Golf V6 4Motion (4WD), Mercedes 300TE (RWD), Subaru Outback (4WD).

See a pattern emerging?

However, I think I'll be able to cope with a Golf GTI because it has such a good reputation as a driver's car. Also, I've driven an Astra VXR, Renaultsport 265 Megane and enough others to know that when the ingredients are right the car can be a great one, never mind the driven wheels.

It's a terrible time of year to sell a car so I'll wait until February, and then put the TT on the market.

Wish me luck.

If you've experience of a Golf GTI Mk5 please let me know what you thought of it.

NB - The photo is of Paul Eldred driving his Golf.

By Matt Hubbard

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Has The Audi TT Mk1 Finally Become Acceptable To Petrolheads?

For too long the Audi TT has been maligned as a hairdressers car or a Mk4 Golf in fancy clothes but it finally seems to have come of age

Audi TT Mk1 3.2 V6

Clarkson did one of his typical hatchet jobs when he reviewed the TT V6. If he doesn't like a car he'll find some reason to trash it, and this he did with the TT, understeering it round the Top Gear test track and spending half the review deciding what to wear.

And in typical fashion that set the standard. Car enthusiasts said the TT was rubbish. So it was, wasn't it?

Well, no it wasn't. OK in standard form with 150bhp and front wheel drive it didn't have a great deal going for it aside from its looks (which still look fresh 16 years later) but with quattro four wheel drive and either 225bhp 1.8T or 250bhp V6 the TT is a fantastic car. And any car will understeer at the TGTT if the driver wants it to - I know I've driven it.

But nobody knew because Uncle Jezza said it was a car for people who don't like cars.

The TT has several things going for it.

It was launched in 1998 but looks great inside and out even today, in fact the design influenced Audi for years and some Audis still carry design cues from the Mk1 TT. The engines are all good, even that 150bhp 1.8T is reasonably lively.  The interior is practical, it has +2 rear seats and a large hatchback boot. It has four wheel drive which makes for supreme grip in all weathers.

It has all the toys you'd expect from a premium car. It is so well built it doesn't often go wrong and it has no (OK, well one*) inherent faults. It is based on a VW chassis and has VW engines so parts are cheap. And it's bloody fast.

The TT doesn't have the steering feel of a Porsche Boxster of the same era but then again it doesn't have the same catastrophic engine problems the Boxster does.

So why is the TT coming back into fashion? Why are people saying they secretly liked TTs all along?

Nowadays you can buy a TT 225 for £2,000. That is within the budget of a motoring journalist, amongst the least well paid of professions. But a very influential bunch of people.

I've seen at least five car journos openly discussing Mk1 TTs on social media or magazine blogs, talking about how they'd like the special edition TT Sport but can't stretch to that so a 225 will do instead, or even a V6 but you'll need to shell out around £5k for a decent one.

This chatter spreads, to forums, to car enthusiasts on Twitter and Facebook and now everyone likes TTs.

It also helps that the TT Mk3 is getting such good reviews. Good news filters down.

The Audi TT Mk1 has finally come of age. No longer is it for hairdressers and women. People have realised, 16 years after it first went on sale that the Audi TT is a damn fine sports/GT car you can drive every day of the year - and therefore doesn't need to be kept just as a second car for the summer months.

Someone who's known this for years is Speedmonkey's Col - my brother. He had a 225 in 2005 and bought a TT V6 last year.

I liked it so much I bought one myself.  I've written about it several times in my 'fleet' updates.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn't always listen to what others are saying. Some journalists write bullshit reviews and, as they're only human, they are sometimes influenced by what others are saying.

The TT was always a good car, it's just that no-one was brave enough to say so.

Audi TT Shootout – Mk1 3.2 V6 vs Mk2 2.5 RS



* the one inherent fault in the TT Mk1 is the DSG gearbox. Not many last beyond 100,000 miles without some expensive fault. The 6-speed manual is excellent though, and reliable.

@SpeedmonkeyCol with his and my TT V6s

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - For The First Time In My Life I Have A Garage

I've just moved into a new house and for the first time since I moved out of my mum and dad's place in 1991 I have the use of a garage.

Well, actually, since mum and dad both had a car, this is the first time I've ever had the use of a garage. My previous house, which I'd lived in for ten years, had a garage but it never saw a car. My bike lived in it as did the boiler, a workbench, a mass of shelves and a wardrobe.

But not this time. When I first viewed the property I scooted through the house and mentally ticked every room as being suitable. Then I walked into the garage and paused.  The house was fine, just right, but the garage was perfect.

It's one and a half car lengths long and slightly wider than usual.  At the end are a bunch of workbenches and old kitchen cupboards.  I can fit my Audi TT and Triumph Street Triple in it and there's still room to stand at the workbench and work on...stuff.

It get's better. The garage has it's own pitched roof and loft area. The loft is lit and fully carpeted.  It is, perhaps, the perfect garage.

When I moved in the previous owner had left a load of junk in it - not least some massive steel shelves. The fridge freezer in the house wasn't working either so I bought a new one and the old one was moved into the garage.

For the first few weeks my TT lived outside as I slowly cleared all the detritus out but, only last weekend, the garage was finally free. It was empty and open. It could accommodate the car.

Heaven.

Actually the TT wasn't the first car to live in the garage. My friend's Peugeot needed a touch of paint before it was sold so that spent all day Saturday in the garage - good job too as it rained - getting some Aegean Blue applied to it.

Then, on Sunday, the garage was all mine.

It felt so good to finally drive into the garage, shut the door, walk out of the side door and into the house.

I turned back around and had another look and experienced a frisson of pleasure. Everything fitted perfectly, even the ladder leading up to the loft.

But two things needed sorting. How to stop the TT's door banging on the wall and how to know when  the back of the car was just in the garage? Too far in and I'd knock the bike over, not enough and the door won't shut.

The problem was solved by the application of some old carpet on the garage wall, and a line drawn on the carpet. Line the door edge up with the line and the car is just far enough in the garage.

For a bloke who's into cars and bikes, and tinkering with aforesaid, as well as a spot of DIY, my garage is perfection.

For now the loft is my son and his friend's den. I'm thinking it would make the ideal Scalextric room...

And now thoughts turn to what else I could fit in the garage.

The drive is big enough for three cars.  The TT could live outside, it has done all it's life so far. I could buy a project car although thus far I've yet to decide on a budget or even a car.

A Porsche 944 in need of some attention would be ideal but that'd probably be out of my not yet decreed budget. Maybe an MX5 or something similar could be fun. Or I could even get a project bike.

Whatever, for now I'm enjoying just having a garage. Just having one is a luxury. It's well lit so I can work on the car and bike in the evening and spacious enough to still get around and find and use my tools.

I'm praying for snow this winter so I can be one of those smug commuters with a warm, clean car - for the first time in my life.

Also, a company called DocVision got in touch and said they'd just been made the sole importer for a new product - a screen wash in tablet form - and would I write something about it if they sent a sample?

I said yes and said box of tablets turned up in the post. Now, I don't normally use screen wash as it's so bloody expensive.  DocVision's tablets cost £5.99 for a pack of four. You just pop one in the screen wash bottle and they work well.

The windscreen is smear free and it smells faintly of lemons when I use the wash wipe. The tablets are meant to work at down to -3°C and are 100% biodegradable. So far I'm happy to recommend DocVision - and, no, I wasn't paid, I just got the sample.

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - The Triumph Street Triple's First MoT

I never buy new cars but the Triumph Street Triple is the third brand new motorcycle I've bought.  This is daft because I drive cars every day but the bike comes out of the garage much more infrequently.

The Triumph - aged 3

I bought the Triumph in October 2011, chocked a knackered Bandit in as part-ex against it and paid the balance on the never-never.  The finance ended this month so I now own it outright. Being three years old means it needed its first ever MoT.

After a summer of fantastic weather, which extended right through to September, autumn arrived with a vengeance in early October.

I used to ride all year round, in fact I commuted into central Reading for three years on a Yamaha FZ6, but since I hit 40 I've turned into a fair weather rider.

So it was that the morning of the MoT it had rained all night and was drizzling at 9am when I set off.  The dealer, Bulldog Triumph, is 13 miles from home. The roads were wet and the traffic was busy.

I wasn't looking forward to it. Motorcycling is all about confidence and the last time I rode in the wet was in August 2013.

Togged up in my winter riding kit I headed out - and found it perfectly fine. The visor misted up when I slowed down but otherwise the Street Triple's light weight and supreme balance helped no end. It was a cinch.

Brake earlier and smoother, corner slower, lean less, accelerate with a lighter touch and riding in the rain is fine. Avoiding slippery manhole covers, puddles and painted lines the journey was great fun, if a little cold.

It took 40 minutes for Bulldog to pronounce the bike fit to be ridden, with no advisories.  Whilst waiting I looked at the bikes in the showroom, persuading myself I didn't need a new bike, but when faced with such gloriously presented, brand new stock my resolve crumbled.

I've no allegiance to any car manufacturer but am happy that Triumph make the only bikes I'll ever need.  I'd love a Scrambler but there wasn't one in the showroom. There were, however, a trio of gleaming Tiger 800s.  I sat on them, I looked them over and I did the man-maths in my head.

I asked for a valuation of the Street Triple. £3800 said the man. What??? Surely my three year old bike is worth more than that? A Tiger is £8k so I'd end up paying out over £4k for a new bike.  No way Hosé.

In fact the Street Triple is worth more than that, more like £4,500 in a private sale.  But that shocker was enough to put me off.

I've bonded with my bike, I love it in a way that only a man and a machine can do (obviously not in any kind of perverted way).  I'm not getting rid of it, I'm sorry to it that I even thought I would.

One day I'll be one of those old blokes who own a classic bike, and bought it brand new.  Yep, that'll be me and the Triumph. It's a keeper.

The palace of glittering delights

A Triumph Tiger 800

A custom Bonneville

One of the new Bonneville T124s

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - Sweaty Biking, Not Selling The BMW And The Audi Still Has It

That might seem like an odd headline but it neatly sums up my recent activity with my own vehicles. To sum up I've got a 2005 Audi TT 3.2 V6, a 1998 BMW 323i SE Touring and a 2011 Triumph Street Triple.

Given the sunny weather I've used the Triumph quite a lot, usually for long journeys rather than pottering around on.

I recently had a meeting in the glorious garden of England that is Purfleet.  Well, OK Purfleet isn't exactly a green, rose-filled garden, more a waste strewn square of concrete with an old sofa and some mattresses left to rot and a ruddy great HGV parked in the middle.

I didn't fancy driving down the congested M4 and round the M25 so I took the bike. The sun was blazing and it was edging 30 degrees, and I toyed with the idea of wearing my jeans but common sense took over and I kitted myself out in full leathers.

The M4 was utterly horrible with drivers accordioning from 70 to 0 and back again with miserable regularity.  The M25 wasn't much better. It was depressing to see the variable speed limit area, and associated cameras, had spread all the way round to the M20.

The southern section of the M25 used to be quite fun but now it's a state-controlled cash generation area. It was quiet in some areas but the variable speed limits were randomly set to 60, 70, 40, 50mph. This resulted in the few cars that there were slowing, speeding up, slowing again, speeding up again and ultimately bashing into each other.  I saw two up-the-arse shunts in 40 minutes which were directly caused by these stupidly random limits.

If I'd been in a car the journey would have been hell and would have taken twice as long as it did.  On a motorcycle you can filter between traffic, undertake the idiots sitting in the outside lane and basically enjoy the freedom of being narrow, nimble and quick.

It was damn hot in the leathers but overall it was worthwhile taking the Triumph.

I had wanted to reduce the fleet to just one car so put the BMW up for auction on eBay.  It's in fine condition and had just one owner before I bought it, who kept it in pristine condition and kept the receipts for every penny that had been spent on it.

I wanted £1,000 for it and put a reserve of £999 on the auction. It had a ton of views and watchers but the bidding ended on £600.  I've put that down to selling at the wrong time of year and will SORN it and try again soon. It's just not worth selling it at such a loss.

I ran a Toyota GT86 for 10 days which turned out to be pretty much the best and most agile sports coupe on the market (as distinct to a more expensive performance car).

After it went back I jumped back in the TT and was impressed with how it held up against the market leader, even though it's 10 years old.

The Audi is four wheel drive and doesn't have the same sharp turn-in or glorious control and feedback the rear wheel drive GT86 does, however it makes up for this with a more comfortable interior, far more grunt and acceleration from the V6 engine and is the Toyota's equal on a motorway cruise.

The Mk1 TT is often criticised by so called experts but its strengths more than make up for its weaknesses. The hatchback boot makes it practical, the four wheel drive gives it tons of grip, the BOSE audio system sounds fantastic and it's still an innovative and stand-out design (both inside and out).  The steering isn't half bad either.

Here's a video review of my TT:


Update: I put the BMW on eBay again, and it sold almost straight away for £950!

By Matt Hubbard

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How To Get DAB And Bluetooth In Your Car Without Changing The Head Unit

My 2005 Audi TT has the stereo that was fitted in the car when it left the factory yet it plays DAB digital radio and streams music from my phone via Bluetooth, and displays info on the car's original cluster screen.  

That's because I've had various bits of kit fitted by JustConnect who specialise in upgrading a car's sound system to modern standards whilst leaving the look of the car completely original.

The Mk1 TT's stereo is hidden behind a flap.  When closed the car's interior conforms to the Bauhaus inspired aesthetic intended by designer Romulus Rost.  When open some of this purity is lost.  When an aftermarket head unit is fitted the flap often doesn't close.

This is where JustConnect comes in.  The company fits digital radio, Bluetooth streaming, USB input and can now offer text in whatever display the vehicle was fitted with.  All of this is invisible so the original look of the car remains.

My car doesn't have steering wheel mounted controls but if it did I could control the JustConnect system from them.  The TT's DAB radio is accessed via the FM button and channels selected by a small remote control.  I only ever listen to Planet Rock so the remote stays in the glovebox.

My iPod functionality is accessed by the CD multi changer buttons.  The car can't now play CDs but who cares, CDs are old.

When streaming music I previously had to change songs and playlists via the phone itself but now JustConnect has fitted its very latest tech (the JustPLAY Dension AC1) and all this functionality can be accessed by the now defunct buttons beneath the head units display.  Playlist and song info is displayed in the cluster screen.

All this is very clever but the great thing is that it's completely hidden.  Sound quality is fantastic as the TT has a Chorus head unit and BOSE speakers.  These all remain as standard.

The JustConnect system is comparably priced with aftermarket head units (take a look at the various products here) and they'll fit it at your home or place of work. In my case it they spent a couple of hours in my drive.

The tech they can fit is comparable with that available in new cars.  For me, it's a brilliant system.

Note: This isn't an advert. I paid for the original system.  There was some audible interference so JustCONNECT came to my house and fixed it and fitted the JustPLAY Dension AC1 at the same time.

By Matt Hubbard

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The Zone - This Is Why The Audi TT V6 Is A Great Car

Suddenly it clicked.  Driving had transcended from a series of physical connections from brain to organs and limbs to a seamless interaction requiring no thought. The hardwired nerves and cells found some biological shortcut to the old grey matter and I was the best driver ever.

The road was clear, winding and fast. I held the steering wheel loosely, although I hardly knew it. My feet gently pushed the pedals but I can't remember them doing so.

My eyes were on the road and everything else happened autonomously.  The inside front momentarily lost grip in a corner - I felt it with my body and with my hand on the wheel. It didn't need correcting, it was just a brief moment of slip, enough to send power to the rear wheels to push from the back.

Exit corner, foot down, no wheelspin.

I'd already turned ESC off. Down these bumpy roads the TT's 10 year old electronics can't differentiate potholes and bumps from loss of traction. With quattro traction control is not necessary.

250bhp from the wailing 3.2 V6 pushing the car and passing through the open windows via my ears to my brain. Not enjoying it independently of the experience but using its note to judge gear.

Don't look down. Hit the redline, judged by the engine's scream, change up the slick 6-speed.

Eyes on the apex, enter corner - brake hard, change down, blip revs with heel.

Once the road and the moment is over and I hit a busy main road I breath. That was good.  I was in the zone. Doesn't happen often but a good car can bring it out in me.

That's why the TT V6 is a great car, despite what people say.

By Matt Hubbard

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Speedmonkey Fleet - A Period Of Stability, And Hazardous Animals

My usual mindset is that I'm not happy with my car, or I've got itchy feet and just want another one - just because.  But at the moment I'm quite happy with both - and with the bike.

The TT 3.2 V6 and Triumph Street Triple

The BMW has new suspension and feels much better now.  Prior to the work being done it would judder like mad at 60mph and above, and whenever the brakes were applied.  Now it's smooth, is tighter in corners and stops as it should.

Given I only keep it for the space it offers in terms of normal sized back seats (unlike the TT's tiny +2 efforts) and the big boot there's just no point changing it.

The TT has new discs and pads all round and stops as it should.  It's also got DAB radio, although I probably use the Bluetooth function more.  The power and sound from the 3.2 V6 is brilliant and the quattro system, despite being first gen Haldex, is hugely grippy.  The traction control only kicks in when I hit a bump.  I like the TT a lot and will only change it when I can stump up enough cash for a decent 996.

I spent a few months over the winter pondering a new motorcycle.  I bought my Triumph Street Triple brand new in 2011 on 0% finance, which ends this summer.  I'm hooked on Triumphs now and toyed with the idea of buying a Tiger 800XC for it's extra practicality.  But I rode 1,400 miles on the Street Triple over a long weekend last summer and didn't want for extra space on the bike.

Nope, the fleet is just fine as it is.

Where I live the majority of roads are either fast A-roads or tiny, rural lanes.  I enjoy both.  I know the local A-roads like the back of my hand and know where to overtake and where the speed cameras are located.

The rural lanes are just as much fun, if a lot slower.  West Berkshire's lanes are normally bordered on both sides by high hedges so you can't fly round them practicing left foot braking as you scream towards the apex.  Slow in fast out is the order of the day.

Amongst the challenges down these roads are school run mums in huge SUVs that they can't drive and are scared to death of putting within two feet of a hedge lest its flanks are scratched (diddums) and Honda Jazz/Peugeot 206SW drivers on their way to church/bowls/the garden centre at 25mph.

Cyclists are also becoming ever more prevalent, and dangerous. Several times I've rounded a corner to find a luminous pelaton in formation taking up two thirds of the road.  Hitting one isn't an option, I don't want to damage the car, so I swerve into the hedge whilst they stare daggers of pure fury and hatred.

Most of the verges have been washed away in the winter floods so teams of workers are currently filling them in with dirt and topping them with tarmac.  This makes for fun. The roads are so small that they don't bother with traffic management.  The other day I was caught up in a situation where I was behind two horse riders whilst a gaggle of cyclists and a bin lorry and tractor were trying to come the other way.  Patience is the only solution in these situations.

And then we come to animals.  If you look at the roads on Google Earth you'll see they are just tiny ribbons of tarmac amid thousands of acres of fields and woodlands.  Animals don't know or care what a road is.  They're just things to cross whilst looking for food or a mate.

Some animals are controlled by humans but this doesn't make them any less predictable.  I see horses every day.  The best bet is to hold back, keeping engine speed and revs down and wait until the riders move over to let you pass.  If you try and squeeze past a horse and rider you risk damaging your car, the horse or the rider.  Again, patience is key.

Horses in the road. Best to wait until they indicate you can pass

Rabbits and foxes tend to stay out of your way but I'm amazed how many are hit by cars. I've never hit one in my life.

A road I use quite frequently use to have resident owl.  If you drove down it at night the owl, sitting in its tree, would get spooked and fly parallel with the car for a few yards before swooping off into the dark.

I was hugely saddened to see its flattened carcass recently - obviously a victim of a hit and run.  Similarly I've seen many birds of prey squashed into the tarmac.  Hitting the brakes suddenly is inadvisable but some people seem not to even slow for these magnificent beasts.

I had to slow the other day as a family of ducks waddled down the road in front of me.  For fifty yards the mother duck and her brood trotted along until they came across a stream aside the road and plopped into it.

Less charming is the massive abundance of local deer.  I see them most days.  Deer will jump out of hedgerows without a moment's notice.  They tend to travel in pairs so another will join its mate soon afterwards.

I've never hit one but have slammed the brakes on or swerved on countless occasions.  Some are tiny muntjacs and some are huge stags but all are totally random and will damage you and themselves if you were to hit them.

This makes riding the bike an eyes on stalks affair at or after dusk.  Sure, the road might be free from traffic, the clear evening wind in your nostrils and the heady smell of freedom willing you to break the speed limit in a quite spectacular fashion but if you hit 300kg of venison at 80 you'll be off the bike and down the road, and possibly end up in hospital.

But this frisson of danger is what makes motorcycling such fun, isn't it?

And finally, I popped over to see Graham King recently. Graham has written tons of stuff for Speedmonkey - but no more. He's got himself a paid job with www.onlymotors.com as their web editor.  Their office is only a few miles from Speedmonkey HQ. That's Graham in the photo below with his MX5.

Graham outside the www.onlymotors.com office

By Matt Hubbard

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Speedmonkey Fleet - The Audi TT Gets Digital Radio

I've put quite a few miles on my 2014 Audi TT 3.2 V6 and absolutely love it.  Last week I covered 1,000 miles.  Trouble is I was getting seriously bored with the one CD that would work in it.

@SpeedmonkeyCol with his and my Audi TT 3.2 V6

OK I do listen to FM radio every now and again, but only Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 - when he's not on holiday - and his show is only on from 12-2pm.  Outside of those hours it's been Creedence Clearwater Revival's Greatest Hits on rotation.

I wanted an upgrade to digital radio and some way of getting music from my iPhone5 through the TT's Audi Chorus sound system.  I researched the options and decided on either a Pure digital radio or a JustConnect DAB install.

My brother owns an identical TT 3.2 V6 (that's him in the top photo with both our cars).  He fitted a new head unit to his and reckoned I shouldn't do the same as it spoils the car's interior.

I was inclined to agree, so went on to the JustConnect website and ordered a DAB install plus iPhone cable and bluetooth.

It cost £189 for the digital radio, £50 for the iPod connector and £70 for bluetooth.  The installation was to take place at my home.

A man in a van turned up at the allotted time, worked on the car for a couple of hours, asked for the radio code as he'd disconnected the battery, and then told me it was ready.

Nothing was changed.  The car looked identical.  When he showed me how it all worked I was blown away.

It's brilliant.  Digital radio is selected via the FM button. You press channel preset 6 and the DAB display appears in the head unit and the small screen between the dials. You can choose channels and presets via a remote control.  I'll leave it on Planet Rock and put the remote in the glove box.

Bluetooth is selected via the CD button. Press the button and in a second you've music streaming from your phone. Mega.

The iPhone cable is hidden away in a cubby hole, where I asked for it to be.

I took a look at what was going on halfway through the install.  There were wires everywhere and the glovebox was on the floor, but when he'd finished up you wouldn't know the work had been done, except the existing head unit is still in place and plays DAB and my music from my phone.

I'm super pleased with it.  Here's a short video I shot going through the system in the TT.

By Matt Hubbard

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THE ROAD - The Audi TT, 500 miles, Status Quo And Me

5.55am and Legs by ZZ Top rings out, my alarm tone. Jesus it's early, sod that. 6am. Legs again. Oh shit I've got to be in Truro by 10.30am. That's 250 miles away. Better get up.  ROADTRIP!

Where's the dog? Oh yes, dropped her off with a friend last night.  Today's going to be a long one.  Unfair to take dog with me, or leave her at home.

Shower, get dressed, cup of tea.  In car by 6.30am.  Fire up the engine. God that 3.2 V6 sounds good, even at stupid o'clock.  Blip the throttle. Phwoooar!

No nicotine yet, too early isn't it?  Pack of bottled water and four pack of Red Bull on the back seat - the TT is quite practical. 2+2 seats are useless for humans but great for detritus.

Set off.  20 miles of epic B-roads with virtually zero traffic.  Kingsclere to Whitchurch is particularly brilliant, especially with no dog in the car and newish brakes.  Hooner's heaven. Practice heel and toe - fail at it but love the noise.  Blip, blip.

Hit the A34.  Nicotine need starting to fog brain. Light the day's first fag.

Short while later turn on to the A303.  Same road until Exeter - many miles.  Enter the zone, the road-trip mode.  Enjoy the experience.  Immersed in the THE ROAD.  Mile after mile.  Fast lane, many overtakes.

Car is a joy.  The driving position is perfect.  Notice the details in the TT's interior, the symmetry, the Bauhaus creed.  But I need to charge the TomTom and this means opening the ashtray to get to the 12v.  The TT hides things away behind panels. Opening the ashtray makes it look a mess.  A+ for effort but B- for implementation, Audi.

Get one of those cars who seems to latch on to you and won't let go.  Some horrible Peugeot estate.  He follows me whatever I do. Sits on my arse, I move over, he moves over and stays behind. Then he sits in my blind spot, I slow down. He slows down. I speed up, he speeds up.  I have more power, I go faster than he can and eventually shake him.  Some people just seem to latch on to you.  Arseholes.

The TT only has FM and CD multiplayer.  FM is shit - Radio 1 is for children, Radio 2 is for people who like old pop music. I don't. All other FM stations are political or easy listening. Yuck.  CD multiplayer misbehaving.  The only CD that works is Creedence.  Born On The Bayou and the rest played four times.  Getting a little bored of swamp/stoner rock.

Breakfast, 8am, the only McDonalds on the A303, near Truro.

More miles.  Turn to iPhone and headphones.  Is this legal?  I don't know.  I put Piledriver by Quo on.

Enter the horribleness of Exeter.  Traffic lights, roundabouts, traffic lights on roundabouts, dawdlers.

A30.  Dual carriageway heaven for 100 miles.  Devon, Cornwall.  Fast, dual carriageway, police free. Heaven in the heavenly TT V6.  Move from Piledriver to Hello, still by Quo.

Work (reason for the trip).  Meetings, walking across fields, get wet feet (leaky boots), get wet generally (rain).  Ride around with four other blokes in colleague's Peugeot 206 SW.  Horrible car (hope he doesn't read this).  Sump guard gets half ripped off - spend 15 minutes ripping the other half off, and get muddy knees.

Finish up at Truro at 4.30pm - work finished.  250 miles to home.  4 hours.  This is going to be a late one.  More Quo, this time the aptly titled Quo.

The A30 passes in a blur.  Smoke, smoke, smoke.  It's a brilliant road. Dual carriageway, epic views, light traffic, no cops.

It does have some oddness, though, that other roads don't.  I see several 10mph tractors, one cyclist, a light blue VW Kombi (no visit to Cornwall is complete without at least one sighting of a Kombi) and NO HONDA JAZZES.

Exeter.  More traffic light and roundabout horribleness.  Someone in some windowless control centre is turning every single traffic light to red as I approach it.

A303.  Reflect on the TT.  It's a superb grand tourer.  The 3.2 is a little thirsty at 25mpg average but the sound and power make up for it.  The ride is ultra-smooth, the handling and steering are a lot better than so-called experts say it is, the seat is comfy, the windows are small and you have to open both at 70mph or else the buffeting shakes your head from side to side, and the ashtray/12v still annoys.

Stop at a Burger King for dinner.  Stop at that lane right next to Stonehenge to water a hedge.  Drunk lots of water and Red Bull.  Thought I'd need a kip on the way home but I'm wired and exuberant.

The day's constant drizzle turns into a torrent. Slow down to stop inevitable aquaplaning.  Lorries throwing up vast rooster tails. New windscreen wipers a boon.

More Quo.  Piledriver again.

9pm.  Pick up dog from friends.  Say thanks.

9.30pm.  Home.  Empty junk from car.  Grab bag, other stuff and dog and walk to front door of house.  Look back at car.  This is A SIGN.

I have thoroughly bonded with the TT.  It is a keeper.

It was a 500 mile day.  It was a good day.  Crack a beer.  Write this.

I'm doing 300 miles tomorrow (today).  Bring it on.

NB - I'm getting digital radio and Bluetooth fitted to the TT next week (Hurrah!)

By Matt Hubbard

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Audi TT 3.2 V6 Photographs

All previous photography on Speedmonkey has been done with my iPhone5 but I bought a new camera recently, a Panasonic Lumix TZ40.  I've owned the TT 3.2 V6 for a couple of weeks now so thought I'd pop out and take some photos of the car.

Audi TT 3.2 V6

As an amateur snapper I'm still learning to get the position of the car, lighting, angle of the lens correct.  Even then I take lots of photos, reject most and select the best.

The location for this, and most of the cars I photograph, is a Porsche warehouse near home. During the weekend it's closed so I can park on the access road and snap away.

Hope you like them.

Audi TT 3.2 V6

Audi TT 3.2 V6 

Audi TT 3.2 V6

Audi TT 3.2 V6

Matt Hubbard

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