Vijay Pattni looks at one of the hottest Audis on the market – the fire-breathing Audi TT RS.

Put down your ‘man-bag’, cancel your back wax and step away from the ‘guy-liner’ – because the 80s are back.

There’s no denying it – everywhere you look there is a nod to 80s nostalgia. The Ghostbusters are rumoured to be getting back together, the Transformers have returned and it’s now ok to roll up your pink suit sleeves. No? Just me?

Anyway, with all this shameless pillaging of 80s culture, Audi has dipped into its illustrious back catalogue to bring us a new icon for the digital age: step forward the sensational Audi TT RS.

Audi reckons the new TT RS is “a modern day interpretation of an Eighties legend” – which means this is the Audi Quattro for the noughties. We reckon it is a welcome addition to the carmaker’s BHP-bulging line-up…

Straight Outta Corners

The TT RS uses the famous ‘quattro’ four-wheel-drive system found in the iconic 80s rally car and the same engine layout – five cylinders.

Except now the ‘new’ Quattro plays hardball to the tune of 335bhp and an astonishing 331lb/ft of pulling power available from as little as 1,600rpm.

So basically, switch the TT RS on, engage first gear, floor the throttle and hold on for dear life.

The TT RS boasts supercar performance times – 0-62mph takes just 4.6 seconds (think BMW M3) and it will top out at 174mph if derestricted.

Compare this with the original Quattro’s performance of 220bhp, 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 141, and you will find a whole new world of excitement.

But all this power is usable. The TT RS is the only car in its segment to use four-wheel-drive. Which is handy for us, because sometimes it rains over here.

So when BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG and Porsche Cayman S drivers are powersliding their way around a soaking wet roundabout just trying to get to work, the Audi driver will already be at his desk, ‘actioning’ new targets and ‘blue-skying’ something or other.

In fact, Audi reckons the new TT RS has been developed by Quattro GmbH as “ a pure no-holds-barred driving machine, which has been developed to transmit maximum power to the road in all conditions”.

Berking mad

We took the fashionable road-rocket by the scruff of its neck around Berkshire and found it to be a fantastic driving machine.

Senior web journalist Andy Goodwin said the Audi made the driver feel very secure, “and it steadfastly gripped the road even as the heavens opened.”

The boffins at Ingolstadt seem to have read a few of our weather reports, because they calculated the UK gets, on average, 150 days of rain each year, so four-wheel-drive is a serious consideration.

The ride is “very firm, to the point of being a bit uncomfortable over speed bumps, but body control is good”, reported our man. “The Z4 and SLK would find it hard to keep up with a well-driven RS – particularly in the wet”.

If it ain’t broke

Ok, so at this point you may be wearing your red Audi-badged anorak and screaming out in high anarchy – how dare we sully the original Quattro with a TT!

Yes – unfortunately for Audi, the TT has got a bit of a rep as being a haircutter's car. But this TT RS laughs at your overly plucked eyebrows and coughs straight into your Pomegranate Peach Frappuccino.

At £44,885 it is a lot of money for a TT, but as our road tester reported, “the engine feels like half of a Lamborghini V10”.

Sold.

Audi is 100 years old this year - and we've pulled together their 100 greatest moments:

Check out the TT RS in action: