Until recently, we thought that’s why buyers in the old country could have their way with the 360-horsepower Audi TT RS, while in the States we were stuck the less than pulse-quickening, 265-horsepower TTS. With just 60 horses fewer than the mighty R8, the TT RS is capable of blasting off zero-to-60-mph runs in the 4.6-second range; the company’s midengine halo R8 can achieve the same in 4.3 seconds. We’re guessing that the average buyer won’t be able to tell the difference -- they will, however, notice the staggering disparity in price between the two cars.

Audi hasn’t yet released any pricing or availability information on the TT RS here in America, but we’re willing to bet that the meanest TT isn’t going to be priced anywhere near the $147,500 R8. Americans love a bargain, and while the front-engine TT RS doesn’t sport quite the same panache or handling dynamics of the R8, well, it is awfully close. We wouldn’t be surprised to see some sales that would otherwise have gone to the midengine supercar go toward the TT RS in the future. It’s where we’d lay our money if we were buying.