Photo: Audi
How would you like a supercar with a 5-cylinder engine? You wouldn't, right? But the people over in China may get not one but two, the Lamborghini Huracan and Audi R8.
According to Car and Driver, both the German and the Italian speed machines might get Audi's trusty 2.5 TFSI turbo engine, the same mill that the RS3 uses. It's hardly the stuff of dreams, but this move may be necessary due tot high taxes.
The magazine suggests these models are for Asia in general, but we think they are targeted at China, the biggest fish in the ocean that everybody wants to catch. It's a "what if?" and "not right now" situation, so don't get your gaskets in a bunch.
It all comes down to displacement. People who buy new cars with engines under 4 liters have to pay 17% while those who's V8s or V10s pack more heat fork over 40%.
But the puzzling part of this report is why they would choose the 2.5 TFSI. Sure, with an electric turbo, it will deliver 600 PS and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) of torque for the TT Clubsport concept, but the RS3 only has 367 PS.
“Electric boosting would be necessary for any smaller motor, even if it’s turbocharged,” Quattro GmbH’s head Heinz Peter Hollerweger commented. “The problem with electric boosting is that this type of battery is much heavier, and the weight disadvantage of the battery has to be countered by the performance gain.”
So basically, even if they use a smaller engine and give it extra power, both the Huracan and the R8 are probably going to be slower and less fun to drive. The naturally aspirated solution has always been the best one, and it's a real shame they want to mess with that for the sake of more sales.
That being said, Audi has toyed with the idea of putting smaller engines in the R8 for a long time. But considering weak demand forced them to drop the 4.2-liter V8 from the car, going even smaller seems like a bad idea. In any case, if somebody wants to buy a lightning-fast Audi with a 2.5-liter TFSI engine, what's wrong with the TT-RS?
The magazine suggests these models are for Asia in general, but we think they are targeted at China, the biggest fish in the ocean that everybody wants to catch. It's a "what if?" and "not right now" situation, so don't get your gaskets in a bunch.
It all comes down to displacement. People who buy new cars with engines under 4 liters have to pay 17% while those who's V8s or V10s pack more heat fork over 40%.
But the puzzling part of this report is why they would choose the 2.5 TFSI. Sure, with an electric turbo, it will deliver 600 PS and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) of torque for the TT Clubsport concept, but the RS3 only has 367 PS.
“Electric boosting would be necessary for any smaller motor, even if it’s turbocharged,” Quattro GmbH’s head Heinz Peter Hollerweger commented. “The problem with electric boosting is that this type of battery is much heavier, and the weight disadvantage of the battery has to be countered by the performance gain.”
So basically, even if they use a smaller engine and give it extra power, both the Huracan and the R8 are probably going to be slower and less fun to drive. The naturally aspirated solution has always been the best one, and it's a real shame they want to mess with that for the sake of more sales.
That being said, Audi has toyed with the idea of putting smaller engines in the R8 for a long time. But considering weak demand forced them to drop the 4.2-liter V8 from the car, going even smaller seems like a bad idea. In any case, if somebody wants to buy a lightning-fast Audi with a 2.5-liter TFSI engine, what's wrong with the TT-RS?
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