VIDEO SHOOTOUT: Audi TTS Vs Alfa Romeo 4C - Which Is The Best True Sports Car?

Well, neither would be considered the BEST true sports car as there are plenty of other contenders for that title.
But, in this comparison, the BETTER true sports car is probably the Alfa.

If you want tasteful looks and reasonable quality, then the Audi is the choice. The Audi is also much more refined and it an excellent handler. The Alfa Romeo is crude and unrefined by comparison, not to mention garishly ugly.

Neither sells worth a damn so the comparison is moot anyway.

You know I think these cars really reflect on the culture of 2 countries. Germans tend to be very serious, precise, cool, teutonic
conservative. Italians tend to creative, fun,artful, emotional and sometimes a bit unfinished. The TTS is a careful design that neither excites or offends. It is well engineered and has a high quality. The Alfa,in my opinion, is the "baby Ferrari" but a bit rough around the edges. It is more full of fury and demands more from the driver. What's amazing is how close they were in track times. How they got there could not be more different. I think in retrospect that both were a missed opportunity for more sales. Where the TT went wrong is by going to the conservative evolutionary design. In 2010 they came out with the "Quattro show car". This was essentially bringing back the styling que's of the original Audi Quattro from 1980 in a more modern iteration. Audi really made a statement with it's 5 cylinder performance turbo and AWD. To me this is the heart and sole of what Audi should be. Had VAG decided to adopt this design language to the new TT it really would have been a design hit. Instead they made a half hearted attempt to update the version 2 TT with a bit more edgy angular styling. Nether design captures the original Freeman Thomas version one design. As for Alfa due to its construction(carbon fiber tub) and price point it was designed with all the practicality taken out of it. Even high performance mid engine Lamborghini's and Ferrari's have front luggage areas, descent radios, comfortable seats, power steering, reasonable A/C systems etc. All of this is absent in the Alfa. Therefore this nullified this as being completely limited as a weekend car. That's one reason why given the choice you would probably pick the Audi or a Cayman. Both end up being more livable than the Alfa thereby dooming any potential sales.

The 4C was also 100% overpriced. Had it been an Alfa Romeo "MR2" starting at $30K, it would have been a brisk seller.

People who are used to the Boxster/Cayman and look at the 4C's fit and finish are appalled beyond belief.

People used to TVRs will feel right at home.

Tangent:

By the way, the specs of the 4C and a Sagaris are remarkably similar:

4C
wb 93.7
l 157
h 46.6
hp 230

Sagaris
wb 92.9
l 159.7
h 46.3
hp 380-400

The Sagaris weighed 300 pounds more (due to engine and construction materials) and cost about $15K more.

Well Matt - thanks to Brexit - and the fall of the pound plus the rise in the Dollar - British cars should become measurably less expensive for Americans - YOU might actually be able to afford that TVR.

However - as one who enjoyed some British "sports cars" -= you would also know that they were largely crude and unrefined - as well as being famously unreliable - and we Both know that was part of the CHARM of the cars - you never knew what would/could happen. The same was true of most Italian sports cars back then too. YOU lived on a first name basis with your Mechanic - or if you serviced yourself - then your parts suppliers. IN fact - there were certain parts you kept in your garage for the inevitable.

The people of today who want a car to be both FUN and RELIABLE don't know what they are missing! IF a car Reliable - it certainly cannot be as much fun as it could be! (Where do you mount the Nitro tank)

@TomM You'd be surprised by how many TVRs are in the USA as track cars. I currently have 2 of them.

TVRs are crude, yes, but they don't have to be unreliable. Upgrading the wiring harness fixes most reliability issues. The bespoke Speed 6 engine benefits from a good balancing job, but most TVRs have run-of-the-mill Ford engines.

The new TVR is using a lot of parts from the Mustang's parts bin: engines, transmissions (yes plural), wiring harness, and assorted electrical components among other things. The projected cost hovers at $100K and several are coming to the USA as track cars.

I am quite adept at working on cars and enjoy doing so. You'd probably like my home garage.

If a non-compliant car is old enough it can be driven legally in the USA. Tasmins and SEACs are no brainers. Throw in a 2.3 Ecoboost and a wiring harness and you're in for a lot of fun.

You can also bring in non-compliant newer cars as long as they are not street driven--there are loopholes however and with the right smoke and mirrors you can drive a non-compliant car legally.

There was a window of opportunity in getting TVR frames and bodies that were never used for production because the factory was largely abandoned with with frames and bodies waiting to be built. Take a frame, throw on a body, bolt in an LS7 and head to the track. That dried up the nanosecond Les Edgar showed up with money in hand.

The TVR factory in Blackpool was partially demolished and repurposed. I am thankful to have seen it.

As for Brexit, initially the pound will suffer, but over time the UK will be just fine as the debt of poor EU countries strangles the more wealthy nations.

credit to darringer for having a tvr but you have to be realistic, its not a car anyone can find easily so its not even worth mentioning.
the tvr is more rare than a damn lotus so u cant compare. if anything the tvr is like an ariel atom.