What: 2003 Audi TT Roadster 225 quattro
Color: Color: Avus Silver Metallic (avussilbur; metallic UNI; LY7J / Z17; Audi)
Interior: Purple leather
Mileage: 57,000 miles (approximately 91,700 km)
Price: £9,999
Location: North Norfolk Car Sales, North Walsham, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Listing: Car & Classic
Avus Silver is a familiar finish on the first-generation Audi TT, painted standard in the USA on the limited TT ALMS edition. Paired here on this UK market example with purple leather and factory Recaro Pole Position seats, however, it becomes something exceptional. This right-hand-drive 2003 Roadster combines an understated exterior with one of the most distinctive cabin specifications we have encountered in a Mk1 TT.
The purple treatment extends beyond the bucket seats to the steering wheel, center-console uprights and door trim. The seller identifies it as a factory bespoke interior created through Audi exclusive. Listed equipment includes 18-inch nine-spoke wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and Bose audio, alongside the 225-specification 1.8-liter turbocharged engine and six-speed manual transmission.
Its precise history warrants some qualification. The advertisement calls the car an “Individual” and claims a production run of 57. We contacted a retired Audi UK senior staffer with extensive knowledge of the period, who asked around to another former Audi UK colleague. They did not recall a 57-car limited edition matching this description. That does not conclusively disprove the claim, but it leaves the figure unconfirmed.
Another source, who owns a grey-over-red example, describes two available combinations: grey with red leather and silver with purple. Even still, if that were the case and there were 57 units, we’d expect to see more evidence of them on a market we watch pretty closely. Our working theory is that these cars represented coordinated Audi exclusive packages offered through Audi UK that year. Period sales literature or factory documentation would be needed to establish the program’s exact name and scope.
The seller reports ownership since 2016 and eight years of dry storage. Advertised preparation includes timing-belt and water-pump replacement, a Haldex service and instrument-display refurbishment.
For American enthusiasts, this remains a watch-list car or perhaps a buy-it-and-store-it-there opportunity: it is right-hand drive and has not yet reached the 25-year threshold for the usual federal safety exemption, which is calculated from its manufacture date. Whatever the eventual answer on production numbers, Avus Silver over purple factory Pole Positions makes this TT worthy of attention.
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