One squeeze of the new Audi TT RS’s right pedal is all it takes to know what’s most special about the car. That inline five-cylinder is an Audi hallmark that’s featured in everything from its greatest racecars to humble passenger sedans.

In the TT RS, the 2480cc turbocharged unit is now at the top of its game. Spinning up 294kW at 5850rpm and 480Nm at 1700rpm, it packs a heavy punch.

It’s also very new. At the vehicle’s launch we had the chance to mingle with the engineers and learn some interesting things about it.

For instance, did you know its turbocharger’s turbine now flows in reverse? Nope? Then here’s five nerdy things about the new TT RS’s engine…

1. It’s been on a serious diet

Point one

Lightweight pulleys do their bit, as do smaller main bearings and the magnesium oil sump top, which finds another two kilograms. Overall the new engine is 26kg lighter, totalling at 157kg.

2. It no longer has a cool red cylinder head

Cylinder head

3. There’s a whole new turbocharger system

Turbo

While still single-scroll (as it must be with a five-cylinder), the exhaust flow’s direction has been reversed so gases hit the turbine’s fins straight on to help spool and response.

4. It’s technically related to a Rabbit

The old TT RS’s iron-block turbo five was essentially a tweaked and turbocharged version of what was found in the US market’s Rabbit (also known as the Golf). Both blocks share the same undersquare bore (82.5mm) and stroke (92.8mm) measurements with the new alloy unit, however this latest case’s alloy design evolves the iconic five-cylinder even further.

Audi tt clubsport turbo concept