Sixteen years after the first Audi TT was revealed, Audi has unveiled its third-generation sports car at the Geneva Motor Show – and thanks to its lightweight construction, it weighs 140kg less than the iconic original. The car is due on sale this autumn with a price of around £28,000.

The standard TT and sporty TTS starred on Audi’s stand, with the regular car offering engines shared with VW’s hot Golfs. The 181bhp 2.0 TDI diesel is from the GTD and the 227bhp 2.0 TFSI petrol from the GTI Performance Pack. A 306bhp version of the 2.0 TFSI powers the TTS.

• Geneva Motor Show 2014: live

Under the skin, the new TT sits on the VW Group’s MQB platform – shared with the VW Golf and Audi A3. With aluminium and ultra-high-strength steels in the construction the new car is up to 50kg lighter than the MkII TT. That brings some big performance and economy gains.

Audi TT 2014: performance

A manual, front-wheel-drive 2.0 TDI can do 0-62mph in 7.2 seconds – three-tenths faster than the outgoing quattro TDI. It also emits 29g/km less CO2, at 110g/km, and promises 67.2mpg. If efficiency isn’t a priority, there’s a dual-clutch, quattro 2.0 TFSI, which is faster than the outgoing TTS, doing 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds.