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Audi Details V6 TDI with Electric Charger in RS5 Concept

The RS5 TDI Concept was built by Audi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TDI engine. However, it's so much more than a diesel engine in the body of a sports coupe.
Audi RS5 TDI Concept 13 photos
Photo: Audi
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A brand new type of engine is used to power it, still a V6 TDI, and yet it packs quite a revolution. It's charged by two normal turbos, like the BiTDI powering the A6, A7 and SQ5 TDI. However, there's extra air boost coming from an electric charger, working somewhat like a turbo, but spun at up to 70,000rpm by an electric motor. This year's F1 engines work in a similar way, but they only have one turbo spun by both gasses and electricity.

You could say that this a tri-turbo six-cylinder engine, similar to BMW's unit, but it's technically a scroll-type supercharger, not a turbo. Power comes from a separate 48-volt electric system, fed by a compact lithium-ion battery.

The output of the RS5 TDI concept is similar to that of BMW X5 M50d: 385 PS (283 kW) and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque, sent out through an 8-speed transmission and quattro all-wheel drive.

The horsepower output matches that of the 4.2-liter V8 TDI fitted to the A8, but torque is down by 100 Nm. This makes replacing the V8 diesel possible but still highly speculative at the moment. Perhaps more important is the fuel consumption: 5.3 L/100km (44.3 mpg US / 53.2 mpg UK), comparable to superminis with small petrol engines.

We mentioned the X5 because Audi has let slip this "tri-charged" engine will power its rival, the next-gen Q7, due out within the next year.

The lag-reducing electric charger helps the RS5 accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds, 0-200 km/h (0-124.3 mph) in less than 16 seconds and reach a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph).

“25 years ago, Audi launched the first TDI on the market, writing the first chapter of an enduring success story,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member for Technical Development. “Our latest innovation is the electric turbocharger, which further improves not just sprint times and pulling power, but also efficiency. This technology illustrates the possibilities harbored by 48-volt electrical systems, which we are currently developing for use in production vehicles.”
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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