The TT community has an interesting history...
When the Audi TT was first launched it was an inspirational car with a striking design causing a sensation at the Geneva motor show. It created a storm of interest and as the first models appeared in the showrooms it soon became the pride of some and the dream of many.
The TT Forum was started in June 2000 by Jason Taylor and immediately gained huge popularity amongst an audience hungry for information about the TT and with a burning need just to talk about it.
For the same enthusiastic reasons the TT Owners Club was started by Russel Butt also in 2000 and later re-launched in 2002/2003 by Mark Leavy (aka nutts) with its now familiar committee structure. Dave Mahoney, the owner of the TT Shop was on the original committee a small TT world really!
Here is the founder members takes on the history:
FROM MARK LEAVY (AKA NUTTS):
"Russel Butt started an A4 size newsletter in late 2000. He stopped it early 2002. It wasn't a club as we know it. He produced the newsletter and had a distribution list. Two TTF members (Zoe and Matt) took it upon themselves to organise some events, like the first national get together at Beaulieu in 2001. He did call it the TTOC though. When he stopped his newsletter he effectively wrapped the "club" up.
I gathered a few TTF members together at the Cable&Wireless facility in Coventry in January 2003 and presented my vision of what a members' club should look like. The club and first committee were formed that day. We started our club with no money and no member list and Russel's TTOC had no constitution. We started the process of gathering people together in 2002, but it was January 2003 before we finally got everyone together at the EGM."
Here is how it all happened:
2000 - TTF launched
2000 - Russel gathered like minded people, A4 newsletter
2001 - meet at Blenheim
2002 - 1st intern. Meet at Beaulieu organized by Zoe & Matt; Russel stopped news letter shortly after. Mark (aka nutts) appears on scene
2003 - TTOC launched/re-launched at C&W; Burghleigh meet
2004 - Brooklands
2005 - Gaydon
2006 - Gaydon
2007 - Donington
2008 - Rockingham, (almost) full Committee change
2009 - Rother Valley Park. TTF and TTOC as one, TTOC chairman becomes TTF administrator
2010 - Duxford. TTOC forge even stronger links with TTF
2011 - Crich Tramway Museum
2012 - Gaydon
2013 - Gaydon
2014 - Beamish
2015 - Beaulieu
2016 - National Space Centre