No matter how far the carmakers take the horsepower wars - or how much they back down from them - the aftermarket is always prepared to go farther. Too much is never enough for a determined tuner, and the latest example is mcchip's Audi TTS.

Rolling off the factory floor with 272hp (203kW) from its 2.0L TFSI engine, the small and svelte TTS offers impressive performance from day one. But the Germans at mcchip wanted more, so they applied a quick ECU tune to get another 43hp (32kW) and 66lb-ft (90Nm) out of the four-banger, bringing totals to 315hp (235kW) and 325lb-ft (440Nm) of torque. Top speed rises to 171mph (275km/h) as part of the package as well.

That's still well short of rival tuner MTM's TT-RS-beating 380hp car, but it's more than enough for most folks to call the mcchip TTS a screaming daily driver.

In addition to the ECU tune, mcchip delivers a custom appearance package so people know you've got something special before you smoke them at the next stop light. Nineteen inch black OZ alloy wheels clad in Continental SportContact3 tires in a low-profile 235/35 size offer plenty of grip and a clean, mean look.

Pricing is fairly reasonable as well, at €849 ($1,115) for the tune and another €2,990 ($3,930) for the wheel and tire setup.