Thank f$€k... NEW Rs4 to have a V8

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

From an interview Car and Driver had with the head of quattro at audi…seems to hint at the next new RS4/5 having a V8 of some sort. Note that he didn’t reference what the M3 did (turbo V6…yeucch) but rather what the new C63 did (turbo V8… Yay)

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http://blog.caranddriver.com/audi-rs-chief-on-u-s-market-growth-diesel-future-models-and-more-we-just-want-rs-avants-ok/

There was also a broad, and welcome, hint that the next-generation RS5 coupe and cabrio (and their RS4 sedan sibling) will continue with V-8s, rather than follow BMW’s trend of moving the M3 and M4 to sixes. “We are still developing V-8 engines, although application will depend on segment. There will still be cars in the C- and D-segment [Audi-speak for A6 and A8] with eight cylinders, and maybe also the B-segment [A4/A5]—look at Mercedes, they have introduced the [2015] C63 with an eight-cylinder.” This would be an odd thing to say if Quattro isn’t planning a similarly happy future for the RS4 and RS5.
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#2

That is good news indeed!

#3

Hallelujah !!!

#4

Blehh. I would prefer a TT V6 or something similar. Something with some low end grunt. I don’t see the point of 8k rpm car that’s driven on the street all the time.

Maybe it will be a very small TT V8 but probably not given the 4.0tt they already make to replace the MPI 4.2. RS cars need something completely special.

Sure the V6 wouldn’t be as unique but the current 4.2 used in the RS4 doesn’t hold a candle to the new MB and BMW offerings.

#5

Hallelujah!!

#6

Have you noticed all of the buzz about the new v6tt m3? No? That’s because nobody cares about it . It’s a bit of an emotional flop…not exactly the formula for an m car. That’s the formula you’re advocating for the RS5/4?

A high revving v8 is fantastic and if you put aside the “when I buy one third hand I want to get 75 hp from just a tune” market, who can’t/won’t afford these cars when new (thus audi doesn’t give a fuck about them or sell stuff they want ) you realise there’s more at play here.

While the 3 year old 450 hp RS5 engine may indeed not hold a candle to the 3 month old V6tt m3 output, not a lot of people are walking away from reviews smiling and saying I’ve gotta have one. And yes, the still on auto show tour V8tt from the new C63 appears to be a monster, but , remind me how that is relevant again? Audi haven’t put the new A4 engine out there, let alone the RS4/5. Other than those who cater their reviews to tuner kids on YouTube with 2 minute attention spans by drifting and droning on about modifications potential (Chris Harris etc) nobody reviews the RS5 or R8 and said “I wish it sounded worse and had small displacement V6 turbo lag”

Bottom line is that for these cars an emotional excitement about the car makes people buy them, among other things. When you take away the 2 biggest influences on that feeling, responsiveness and sound, you then have to trot out charts and specs and stats to sell it. That’s not very cool.

#7

V6TTs are not very exciting at all.

#8

BMW uses an inline 6, not V6 (subtle but important distinction). Definitely a more refined engine than a V6TT. Although the M engine doesn’t sound great with stock exhaust. The 3.6L V6TT Macan engine with a dry sump oil system would be a pretty cool engine, and is already engineered into the VAG MLB platform architecture. I don’t think it’s the ROI for simple ECU tunes that gets everyone excited, it’s the wider torque band. And the new variable geometry turbos are doing a pretty good job of eliminating turbo lag, I haven’t driven the new M3, but the N55 in the 3 series is pretty impressive in this respect (it has a single variable geometry turbo).

I’m not sure a V8TT sees its way into the B segment for Audi, I think Mercedes is the exception rather than rule. And staying NA doesn’t seem like it will comply with the CAFE fuel economy requirements. Look what they did with the RS5 TDI concept…I think what we see is some kind of electrification of the drivetrain. Somehow trying to trickle down the tech from the TDI racecars. The new generation of quattro? Who knows, maybe this is why Audi has taken so long to introduce the B9.

#9

good catch on the I6 vs V6. That’s the fabric of the BMW 6 cylinder mantra, so it’s a bad error to make lol

as for Audi putting out a V6 twin turbo instead of a V8, I don’t think that will go over very well with thei buyers when the competition is selling a 500hp twin turbo V8. I also don’t think Audi would sell it with less than 475 hp, and to that end pushing a 3.0 to 475hp might be a bit much. Not to say they’ve never had similar engine setups for S vs. RS in the past…it’s been all over the place. The RS4 has always been a bit of a brute that bashed everything out of the way, rather than a light nimble scalpel. The small displacement V6 in the M3 makes some sense with it’s track focus. But the autobahn stormers from AMG and quattro…they like big engines and the brute force approach. Look at this list and look how weird the V6TT from the B5 looks. The I5T from the RS3 and TT are smaller, but are also very small cars. The B8 RS4 is 186" long. That’s 10" longer than the very compact B5. The B9 or whatever it’s called? It’s not going to be smaller!

B5 V6TT
C5 V8TT
B7 V8 FSI (completely different engine, 1200 more RPMs and +80 hp than the S4 MPI 4.2)
C6 V10TT
TT2 I5T
B8 V8 FSI
C7 4.0TT reworked extensively vs. the S 4.0T

p.s. go read that full article/interview…he basically said no, full stop, to a diesel RS model. He did hint at a sub level of high performance diesels, but not as an RS

#10

Seems like a V8 is in the cards, which is great. The diesel concept intrigued me (not sure if I would buy one - again that emotional connection, likely the same with a TTV6), but as has been pointed out in the article, seems like a no go. In the meantime, I guess I’ll be forced to enjoy this lump of a 4.2 ;D

#11

The real question I’m curious about is whether or not they can replace the mechanical center differential with a hybrid AWD system seen on the hypercars, but offer in the ~80k price point.

I.e. how about a 90 HP motor affixed to the front drive axle with the ability to do real regen braking (not that clutch based alternator BS BMW passes off as regen on the 3 series). Maybe place the battery pack towards the rear of the car.

Then have a V6TT (whether it be 3.0L or 3.6L) with one of the turbos being electric so it can harvest energy along with spool up electrically to eliminate turbo lag. Have this longitudinally mounted and go straight to the rear axle with the current sports diff. Car would have an easy 450 HP combined and be a showcase for awd tech in this segment (although Acura kind of beat them to punch), plus be an absolute beast on the track while being innovative in the fuel economy side.

It’s really a question of when they add the hybrid tech to quattro, I just hope it’s something performance oriented on the RS4/5 rather than sticking a motor in the back axle of the A4. I guess it probably first goes to the R8.

#12

Don’t forget a soundtrack run through the car stereo to fool you into thinking your car doesn’t sound terrible…

#13

This is pretty much industry wide, the M5 does this and has a V8. Just pull the fuse, no big deal. I like the way my car sounds with an exhaust. I’d love to have this

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3916/14780909032_4ce343e663_b.jpg

but what can you do.

#14

Yeah, who wouldnt love a MK1 TT :wink:

#15

I was talking about the camper 8)

#16

Haha

#17

Yes, that’s quite a TT. Great sounding good old 2.tract0r :slight_smile:

The reason the M5 does it is because they stifle the exhaust note so much to make it palatable to the 60+ year old men who can afford a $110,000 car and don’t want to rile their neighbours too much lol. Not because V8 doesn’t sound great. Conversely the C63 won’t need it because they’ll ensure that with a valved setup, you can open up the exhaust and hear it in all its glory. Different market for a near compact sport sedan vs. a 195" long highway cruiser.

The reason the V6 cars do it is generally because the V6 sound isn’t quite as enjoyable, so they drown it out with intake noise pumped into the cabin. M3, S4 etc.

#18

I think the inline 6 turbo in the M3/4 sounds great. In the same way the old school inline 5’s from Audi (urS4, group B rally) sound awesome.

I agree the V6’s do not sound so great. They sound like the GTI/every VAG car ever inline 4 engine.

#19

I’m glad there’s at least 1 other person in the world who doesn’t like Chris Harris reviews.

#20

I don’t knowMatt Farah is up there in the world of douchebaggery, and every person at Motor Trend. How can every fucking car be great!!?!?!