AFTER the phenomenal success of my column last weekend, believe it or not they have asked me to write another.

While honoured to be filling Clarkson’s shoes during his long holiday (he insists he’s filming abroad not just sunbathing) to be honest this job couldn’t have come at a worse time for me. This may be bank holiday weekend, the laziest point of the summer for most people (even Tony Blair is in Barbados, for heaven’s sake) but I am rushed off my feet. Aside from trying to make hay while the sun is still shining on the modelling front, I am also as you read this, launching my new event company, Pret-a-Polo.

We are hosting a high goal polo match this afternoon in Windsor Great Park. The day will include a Proud Gallery Rankin photography exhibition, a Michelin-star dinner, a charity auction supporting the British Red Cross and children with Aids, a huge fashion show featuring four top British designers and a party.

To say it’s been a lot to organise would be the understatement of the millennium.

In hindsight it would have been more sensible to have mentioned it last weekend but if you are in the Windsor area and fancy coming down to Guards Polo Club, the match starts at 5pm.

But that’s enough plugging for one day, let’s get down to some motor talk. Audi, the creator of the ground-breaking Quattro Sport and the sexiest of station wagons, the RS4, has relaunched the TT. This time it is served up with a 3.2 litre V6 engine, which replaces the humdrum four-cylinder offering that the car has possessed until now. It also offers something called the “direct-shift gearbox” (DSG) — but more of that later.

I was trudging off the polo field having just lost a semi-final when the TT first caught my attention. As I strolled towards the car park, head bowed, I was greeted by the man from Audi, who was wearing a friendly smile and holding a set of car keys.

Losing the game had left me in a monster of a mood. I didn’t want to take it out on the TT, it just happened to be there.

When I first got in, the car felt a bit cramped and I found myself face to face with the sun visor. By the time I had dropped the seat and reminded myself that I’d just stepped out of the roofless BMW Z4, the Audi felt a bit more spacious, but still feeling rather ill disposed towards it, I set off for home.

Amazing gearbox

Now gearboxes might sound like the last thing to stir the emotions. But the DSG system can change gear in 0.02 seconds and cause mood swings almost as fast. At first I was rather taken aback by the different gearchanging choices it gives, but once you get to know it, it is amazing.

Essentially, it offers the advantages of a manual gearbox and an automatic without the negative aspects of either. The secret is in the twin automated clutches, which allow incredibly quick changes via the gearlever or steering wheel paddles. It also performs as a traditional automatic if you’re in a more relaxed mood.

There is no clutch pedal, but also no torque-converter, and the result is that the car changes between its six gears with silky smoothness. As you shift, the revs are automatically controlled to match precisely the impending gear. It can make even the most clunky driver seem to have the poise and control of a star racing driver.

So, after having enjoyed both the lever and paddle methods of gearchange and with my mood improving, I slipped the TT into auto mode, sat back and relaxed.

Engine torque

The engine isn’t half bad either. This new six-cylinder petrol is very compact due to a narrow cylinder angle of 15 degrees. With 250bhp and 236 lb ft of torque it is an exciting drive and can reach 62mph in 6.4sec (it has a top speed limited to 155mph). Traditional automatics have always offered slightly worse fuel economy but Audi tells me that the TT, without a power-sapping torque-converter, is the most economical sports car in the performance coupé class. Clever stuff eh! Of course for many drivers this is all Greek, and it is the TT’s looks that are the start and end of its attractions. Its appearance is tweaked for this model by the aerodynamic styling package which comes as standard and includes centre air inlet with slats and side gills, a rear honeycomb diffuser panel and a larger modified rear spoiler.

To my eyes, the car is close to the fine line of being almost too much, too stylised, but just manages to stay cool. They are undeniably quite a common sight, but nevertheless the look of it definitely grew on me.

With such a strictly styled exterior, I think they had to do something quite mad inside. In fact it looks like a mix between Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and a spaceship — all massive round aluminium-edged dials. Driving it along in the dark the strange red-lit dials made me feel like I was piloting a UFO.

Surprisingly for any coupé, the Audi actually has a rather good boot, but the back seats are unavoidably small. I tried to squeeze my PA in, who is about 4ft 11in, and she was having major problems.

Due to the unequalled demand for the TT in this country Audi has decided to build the right-hand-drive versions first. So British drivers will be behind the wheel at least a month before their European counterparts.

Although only initially available as a coupé, the roadster version is not far behind and will be released later this year.

The standard spec also includes all the luxuries you would associate with an Audi and 18in seven-spoke alloy wheels for a £29,155 price tag. For an extra £1,500 you can dive into Audi’s special order colours which include Venetian Violet, Cherry Black or Sprint Blue . . . ideal for moody cows like me! If I had to choose between this and last week’s Z4, I’m afraid I’d have to go for the BMW — it just felt more like I was driving it. Whizzing around London in it was simply pure fun.

That’s not to say the Audi is dull (despite all the earnest talk about clutches, economy and Vorsprung durch Technik). In fact as a stress-busting mood lifter this is a great car.

Of course the best way to get out your aggression in a car is to race it, but I think Audi was a bit nervous when I mentioned the word “track”. Before I could say “Chanel”, the TT was whisked off for someone else to test. I’ll have to save my aggression for the polo field.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Audi TT 3.2 Coupe quattro
Engine type V6, 3189cc
Power 250bhp @ 6300rpm
Torque 236 lb ft @ 2800rpm
Transmission Six-speed 'direct shift'
Suspension (front) MacPherson struts with lower wishbones, anti-roll bar (rear) Longitudinal double wishbone, anti-roll bar
Tyres 225/40 ZR16
Fuel 28.8mpg (combined)
Top speed 155mph
Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 6.4sec
Price £29,155
Verdict A major step forward for the gearbox - I know that sounds nerdy - in an appealing package

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