For Audi Engine Size Doesn’t Matter, It’s Power From Now On

Audi has announced a key change in the way it names its vehicles. For a long time, the automaker labeled its vehicles starting with the model name, such as A8. Then, the automaker would give the engine size and the engine type -- gasoline turbo, turbodiesel. Now, Audi is to drop size as an important criterion and will add power output.

Audi has developed a new way to name its vehicles to make it easier for its customers to shop for its vehicles. Rather than focusing on engine displacement which, the automaker believes, are becoming less relevant to consumers, said Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter, the member of the board of management for sales and marketing at Audi. Instead, the automaker believes that power output “makes it possible to distinguish between the various performance levels,” Dr. Voggenreiter continued.

Power Output Is Becoming ‘Increasingly Relevant’

“As alternative drive technologies become increasingly relevant, engine displacement as a performance attribute is becoming less important to our customers. The clarity and logic of structuring the designations according to power output make it possible to distinguish between the various performance levels,” explained Dr. Voggenreiter.

As a result, Audi is adding new numbers to the ones already on its vehicles. The numbers represent power output designations for all of its vehicles. The name of model series – Audi A1 to Audi Q7 – won’t change. It is within each family that the new numbers become important. The power output numbers apply to vehicles with combustion engines and to electric (hybrid and full electric) or e-tron models.

Audi is using the specific power output of individual models into kilowatts (kW). The change means that Audi is subclassifying its model range into different performance levels, each identified by a two-numeral combination. For instance, the number combination “30” will appear on the rear of all models with power output between 81 and 94. And, “45” will stand for power output between 169 and 185 kW. The top of the Audi range is the performance class above 400 kW. The identifier for this is “70.”

To help make things a bit clearer the numerals will appear along with the engine technology – TFSI, TDI, g-tron, and e-tron. TFSI stands for Audi’s turbocharged gasoline-powered models, while TDI is for the automaker’s turbodiesel motors. G-Tron is for Audi’s natural-gas-powered vehicles. Finally, E-Tron stands for Audi’s electric technology vehicles, hybrid and electric.

Changes Begin With Arrival Of New Audi A8s

The changes start when the new generation of Audi A8s appears in the autumn. First, the two six-cylinder engines. Now identified as the 3.0-liter TDI with 210 kW (kilowatts), the new designation is the Audi A8 50 TDI (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 5.8-5.6; combined CO₂ emissions in g/km: 152-145. The 3.0-liter A8 TFSI with 250 kW becomes the Audi A8 55 TFSI (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.8-7.5; combined CO₂ emissions in g/km: 178-171).

As Audi model series come to market, they will be assigned the new performance designator the moment they go on for sale. Audi plans to change the designators for its remaining model series in time for the model year changeover in the summer of 2018.

Source: Audi