German Car Zone

^ Think about all the supposed "packaging benefits" that Audi claim by using the supercharger-V engine layout. Now add two turbos and all the necessary plumbing etc. and tell me that the twincharged TSI is economically viable.

Low inertia, light-pressure turbos on a big displacement engine negates the need for a supercharger. The only application to date of the twincharged design is in VW's 1.4 litre inline 4. Interestingly, Audi does not make use of this engine - opting instead for a 1.8 litre DI turbo with practically identical outputs. So much for leveraging synergies and maximising economies of scale!

I won't be surprised if the new RS4 uses a supercharged-only V8. Now, has anyone here seen a production engine with a supercharger that revs to 8250 rpm? Supercharged Honda unit in the back of an Atom?

Hmmm... interesting times ahead.

What did Car say about the engine in the RS5 ? Didn't they say the RS 5 will use a twin turbo V8? I can't see how Audi will want to use 2 different engines for essentially the same car, it would be like BMW using different engines for the M3 coupe and the M3 sedan. It would make sense for the RS4 and the RS5 to share the same engine.

^ Ja, unfortunately Audi's strategy with engines in the S4 and S5 blows that kinda logic out of the water...

Audi launched the S5 at the same time as the normal A5 while the S4 is launched almost a year or more after the A4, and the A4 was released almost a year after the A5. I guess there are some time development issues. Maybe the engineers haven't finished working on the supercharged V6 before the launch date for the S5.

It's also possible that the S5 soon gets "updated" (or should I say downgraded) with the S4's supercharged 3.0 V6.

I think car got it wrong. people think the car is gonna get a turboed V8 RS5 and RS4, and they are partially correct except that its now looking to being supercharged and not turbocharged.

S5 will continue with the V8 for its lifetime.

Bet the next RS4 redline will be much lower than that of the B7 due to the supercharger,unless ofcourse it is twincharged in which the cluth to the supercharger should disenagage alowing higher rpm.

They should develop an all-new v8, if they haven't already, and make it more fuel efficient and have it fit a broader spectrum of cars. In my opinion, the new RS6 should have a supercharged v8 instead of a v10, especially so it could come to the US. And when are they going to do an RS8?

MotorAuthority has published a story about the upcoming Audi RS 4 Avant along with a rendering of the car that follows the same basic RS formula applied to the A4 Avant as we've done above. Other than the image, the MotorAuthority story focuses on one main point and that is that the RS 4 will use a 3.0T Supercharged V6 as seen in the RS 4 even though the RS 5 will use the 450-hp V8. According to a source at the highest levels at Audi in an extensive discussion we had over a year ago, this simply is not true.

Yes, Audi has shown that the 3.0T is capable of more power. The Worthersee 3.0T-equipped Q5 show car displayed this year at the Austrian enthusiast gathering was reportedly making 408 hp and those numbers are consistent with what aftermarket leaders who've been testing the 3.0T are capable of with software upgrades alone. That's good, but not RS 4 good.

More importantly was our previously mentioned conversation. In that chat, we spoke extensively about the 3.0T and the RS cars and some very important points were made. Here's a summary:

• RS 5 and RS 4 will share the same drivetrain. There is not enough volume for these models to dictate separate engine programs. Even the more common S5 will migrate to the S4's 3.0T (and the Cabriolet already has).

• For this generation at least, RS cars will go with the "high-rev" philosophy and stick with the 4.2 at 450hp. We've later learned that this is done through freer flowing air thanks to the larger B8 chassis' dimensions.

• The 3.0T supercharged was developed alongside an alternate turbocharged V6 but the 3.0T's torque delivery and likely lower cost made it more suitable to the S-car variants. If forced induction were to be used for RS, then "turbochargers would be used as they suit the RS car's power needs better".

• Last, and unmentioned in the MotorAuthority piece but we've said it before and will repeat, there will not be an RS 4 sedan. This car's business case in the B7 generation was made with US volume in mind. The RS 5 is more suitable to US tastes than an RS 4 sedan and there's really only market for one RS 4/5 bodystyle in the USA. For this reason, RS will be limited to RS 4 Avant and RS 5.

Now, could we be wrong? The automotive industry does change and, given the economic environment and turmoil, changes come even more rapidly. Our conversation specifically on the RS 4 was well over a year ago and development could have changed. However, based on that conversation, if Audi really were bent on moving to forced induction we'd guess they'd go with that alternate twin turbo V6. We still believe thought that our intel on the RS 4 Avant being a high-rev V8 to be 100% solid. Time will tell.

Fourtitude Forums: MotorAuthority Story on Audi RS 4 Believed to Be Wrong

Rendered: Next-Gen Audi RS4 Avant - MotorAuthority

Something about a 3.0L engine pumping out about 400hp seems a bit odd. Something tells me they'd probably go around the 4.0L route. Supercharging seems to be their new thing but a turbo wouldn't surprise me. Just hope they just blow past everyone's expectations.