Next generation Audi powertrain info comes to light

Audi looks set to go on a major engine downsizing kick in the next few years in an attempt to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It doesn't look like Audi plans any significant power reductions, but many of its engine will move smaller displacements and fewer cylinders with boosting. The result is lighter weight, smaller engines with smaller thirst most of the time and power available on demand. Audi's upcoming mini, the A1, will have gas engines ranging from a 1.2L 86hp TFSI to a 170hp 1.4L TFSI along with the usual assortment of diesel engines. In the larger sporting models, like the S5 and S6 and the next generation S4, the current 354hp 4.2L V-8 will be discarded in favor of a new turbocharged 3.0L V6 generating around 330hp. It seems the only Audis that won't be following this path are the top of the line RS models and the R8 which sell in low enough volumes that they don't significantly impact fleet averages. All of this engine shrinking is part of Audi's plans to grow annual sales by more than 50 percent to over 1.5 million in the next decade.

[Source: Autoweek.nl, Audiblog.nl via WCF]