Ingolstadt could leverage their eTurbo technology to make a smaller-engined Audi RS 4 the most potent one yet.
Audi has some significant changes for the upcoming version of its fastest A4, but if taken in summary, seems to be in-line with all the usual iterative year-by-year updates: faster, more power, more efficient.
A report by Auto Express suggests that there’s more to that than meets the eye, as Audi is addressing a key concern levelled against its current RS4 (B8) and its rather glorious naturally-aspirated 4.2-litre V8 engine: lack of low-end torque.
As blood pumping as the V8’s high-revving nature is, the everyday ability to harness that performance is usually stymied in urban driving. To counter that, the report says that Audi is looking to an evolution of the S4’s 3.0-litre V6 to power the next RS4.
While the S4’s engine is supercharged, however, the updated mill is supposedly turbocharged but not relying on exhaust gasses to spin the turbine, but rather the same innovative electric-powered compressor (EPC) that we saw on the SQ7 TDI.
This uses an electric motor to force feed the cylinders with air at will and with controlled intensity, a system that could mean the end for even a modicum of turbo lag.
With this new type of turbo, the 3.0-litre V6’s performance potential shoots up, and the speculated power output rising from the 332kW in the current RS4 Avant to upwards of 373kW with a healthy surge in torque as well.
The powerplant for this new RS4 could also find its way to an entry-level Audi R8. Particularly for markets such as China, downsizing is major purchase factor as cars there are taxed heavily for having a higher displacement.
Its unclear how long Audi will choose to sit with the next RS4 for its development phase, but we’re keen to see the improvements they’ve made, even if it is merely evolutionary. There should be a lot of excitement should Audi tease a V6-powered R8 as well, making a simultaneous launch a possibility.
