4-cylinder Audi A8 is a Go!
March 11, 2011 by Mirko Reinhardt
In a recent interview by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn confirmed that a 4-cylinder version of the large A8 luxury sedan is in the works. Asked if a 4-cylinder luxury car could work emotionally, Winterkorn insisted that today’s technology made it possible to acoustically de-couple the engine well enough to completely mask the 4-cylinder character. According to Winterkorn, it’s all about “achieving less emissions without having less emotions”.
4-cylinder larger luxury cars already exist: The base version of Mercedes-Benz’s S-Class, the S250 CDI, is powered by a twin-turbocharged 204hp 2.2L 4-cylinder turbodiesel. While in most European markets the 6-cylinder diesel versions dominate luxury car sales, Mercedes expects the 4-cylinder to take over the sales lead soon thanks to it’s 20% better fuel economy. The V8 diesel that used to be available in European S-Class versions has been discontinued due to low sales. The only large luxury sedan to still offer a V8 diesel in Europe is the Audi A8.
What does it mean? Luxury car drivers want to save on fuel, too.
Source: Faz.net
