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Audi kills off its 420-hp four-cylinder engine project

Audi's supercar-slapping, fire-breathing four-cylinder concept engine will remain just that, with Autoblog confirming that it has been internally killed off. Speaking at the launch of the TT RS, the engineering boss of Audi's Quattro GmbH division, Stephan Reil, said the Volkswagen Group had stopped all development of the 420-horsepower, 2.0-liter four it showed in the 2014 TT Quattro Sport Concept car (above). Despite previous assurances that Quattro had roles for both the EA888-based engine and Audi's wildly charismatic 2.5-liter, five-cylinder motor, post-Dieselgate reality has killed the smaller engine. "The 400-horsepower EA888 engine is dead," Reil said. The EA888 engine was conceived and developed by the same man behind AMG's powerhouse 2.0-liter four. Friedrich Eichler left AMG to become the Volkswagen Group's gasoline engine development go-to guy, and he was confident the 420-hp engine could be turned into a production car quickly, as was then-Audi development boss, Ulrich Hackenberg. It was even suggested that because the EA888 engine family bolted straight into the Volkswagen Group's ubiquitous MQB small-car architecture, the little powerhouse could be cheaply and quickly dropped into any of the company's cars that needed an image boost. Since then, Quattro has elevated the five-cylinder motor, switching it to an all-alloy block with a magnesium oil pan to cut down its weight while boosting its power and torque levels. Where the four-cylinder engine was shown with 420 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque, the production version of the TT RS's new five-cylinder engine totes 400 hp and 354 pound-feet of torque. The smaller engine's proponents claimed a 0-62 mph acceleration figure of just 3.7 seconds for the concept TT that carried it, and it might not be a coincidence that the all-new TT RS claims exactly the same figure. The 2.0-liter motor had a torque peak that arrived at 2,400 rpm and began to taper off at 6,300 rpm, while its power apexed at 6,700 rpm, thanks in part to a turbocharger that could feed it up to 1.8 bar of air. Flip to the TT RS' data and you're looking at more torque at lower revs and a touch less power, but at higher revs. That's not a lot of wriggle room for the concept engine to operate, especially when the perceived value of the five-cylinder engine is higher than the four, and the four's development and production costs would be higher than the five's.

'Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020'

Automotive News Europe reports the new Audi manufacturing facility in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico will increase the automaker's production capacity for the Q5 SUV by 150,000 units per year. While the plant will supply every market with the exception of China, most of the production is slated to head to the US.
While speaking with ANE, Audi CEO Rupert Stradler said, "Worldwide, every third Audi will be an SUV by 2020." So far this year, 40 percent of Audi vehicles sold in the US have been light trucks, with the company's sales in that segment jumping by 53 percent. By comparison, Audi passenger car sales have increased by just one percent.
The first Q5 vehicles from the San Hose Chiapa plant will show up on dealer lots in 2016. Audi of America recently received a larger 9,000-unit allocation of Q5 models after seeing sales increase 36 percent through April compared to the same period in 2012.

Nissan Truck-a-Palooza | Autoblog Podcast #483

Episode #483 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week, Dan Roth, Alex Kierstein, and Michael Austin talk about the jam-packed Autoblog Garage, Alex Kierstein's time with several new Nissan trucks including the 2017 Armada, and we wrap it up trying to spend your money. Check it out! Check out the rundown with times for topics, and thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #483 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics 2017 Nissan Armada In The Autoblog Garage 2016 Audi R8 V10 Plus 2016 Jaguar XJR 2016 Jaguar XE Diesel 2016 Jaguar F-Pace 2016 Chevrolet Cruze Premier 2016 Kia Sedona SXL 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Austin, Alex Kierstein Rundown Intro & Garage - 00:00 Nissan Trucks - 19:39 Q&A - 29:38 Total Duration: 40:19 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Audi Jaguar Mitsubishi Nissan