B9 S4 to weigh in at 3,000 lbs.. 4cyl turbo power plant.

[KryptoniK]

If you were surprised when Audi launched its 2010 S4 with a six-cylinder motor rather than another V8, you better be sitting down to read this. According to engineering director Michael Dick, the 2014 Audi S4 will have a turbocharged four-cylinder engine under its hood — and so will the next S5.


How is it possible for a four-banger to deliver the level of performance worthy of an “S” badge? The answer has as much to do with the rest of the car as it does with the motor. Mr. Dick told Car and Driver the new S5, for example, will be 880 pounds lighter than the existing model. He said Audi will increase its use of structural aluminum and magnesium to achieve this goal. The 2012 A6 will also make use of lighter materials, he said.

Dick went on to say the S5 prototypes currently being tested weigh around 3,000 lbs, with all the same safety features as the current car. Performance is said to be improved as well — the cars are reportedly able to lap Germany’s Nurburgring race track eight seconds faster than the current S5.

The 2014 S4 and S5 prototypes currently being tested look identical to today’s models, but the production cars will get a freshened look with cues from the forthcoming A7, which is based on the Audi Sportback Concept.

In the interim, the 2011 S5 is expected to lose its V8 in favor of the same V6 that’s in the new S4.

With Mercedes eliminating most of its V12 offerings and BMW increasingly turning to smaller engines with turbochargers, it’s clear German automakers are moving away from high-displacement high-horsepower motors. Does this mean the “horsepower wars” are officially over? We certainly thinks so. Enter the “efficiency wars.”

http://www.leftlanenews.com/audi-s4-...-cylinder.html


wow!! I like where that is heading, finally returning to lightweight cars.

[KryptoniK]

Oh boy, I just realized this is a re-post. Why would a post like this go into chatterbox? I dont think many people check up on that forum frequently... =/

[Devitan]

I have to say I love the sound of my V8 as well as the performance. I wonder if the 4 bangers will be cheaper costing as well. Not sure I would want a 4 cyl. even if it does have better performance. I have always loved the muscle cars and nice burbling v8's. If I really wanted a "toy" car I would have gone with an Evo. Can't wait to see the specs on it though. To think people buy a lightweight battery for 500+ to save 40 lbs or so when this is going to be 900 lbs lighter.

[FarmerBob]

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2...ore-speed.html

[SuperAvant]

I have to say I love the sound of my V8 as well as the performance. I wonder if the 4 bangers will be cheaper costing as well. Not sure I would want a 4 cyl. even if it does have better performance. I have always loved the muscle cars and nice burbling v8's. If I really wanted a "toy" car I would have gone with an Evo. Can't wait to see the specs on it though. To think people buy a lightweight battery for 500+ to save 40 lbs or so when this is going to be 900 lbs lighter.

Huge second to that. I hope Audi doesnt follow the path of the 4 banger rally cars.

[EnjoyIncs]

Why not lighter and the v8?

[LumpyDog]

Why not lighter and the v8?

That's what I'm talking about!

[EnjoyIncs]

It seems like they want to be just even with their competitors. Why not blow them out of the water?

[PetrolDave]

4 cylinder engines just sound "bad" - they have large un-balanced second order forces, and no clever balancer shafts have been able to completely cancel those out.

I wouldn't buy a 4 cylinder S4. I've had 2 B6 S4s and currently have a B7 RS4, so maybe if other existing owners feel like me and tell Audi they might be forced to re-think. OK so they have to meet an arbitrary EU CO2 limit, but they can do that by being smart not just "throwing" a 4 pot engine into an "S4".

[jukesandz]

It just doesn't seem right if the A4 has a V6 option and the S4 only has a 4-banger. Why not a single turbo V6 or something?

[ARCH NME]

agree..i think audi have to carefully think this one through before production because it will not make any sense owning an s4 which is a few thousand more than an A4 but with a smaller motor..regardless of the light weight features developed for that car.....

It just doesn't seem right if the A4 has a V6 option and the S4 only has a 4-banger. Why not a single turbo V6 or something?

[chaos2984]

if its gonna be a 4 cyl its gotta have more than 340 hp. you cant go down in hp. And im sure there gonna use an all alluminum aerospace frame which is bucu bucks

[NoTec]

This would be fitting. A 4-cylinder S4. It would sorta suck though because most 4 cylinder vehicles don't sound appealing unless they're spinning at 14K rpm. And even then they still don't sound powerful. I think a variant of the I-5 in the TTRS would be more fitting. I would hope that the RS4 would be an even more ferocious 5-cylinder turbo monster. More focus on better 'Ring laptimes and less focus on high HP Autobahn cruisers!!!!

[serumk]

I don't think Audi is going to throw anything out there with an "S" badge that isn't going to WOW you with its performance. The only question I think remains is whether it would sound as good as the V8, and the answer is likely "no," for a lot of people.

[Admin]

Oh boy, I just realized this is a re-post. Why would a post like this go into chatterbox? I dont think many people check up on that forum frequently... =/

Because this has nothing to do with the B6 or B7 S4 or RS 4.

[Auditude2.0T]

Audi knows what they're doing

[ieatfishburitos]

Audi knows what they're doing

Nah, 4 bangers are slow and weak. They'll move it back to a turbo/sc 6 cylinder.

[ahhhudi]

Why not lighter and the v8?

I will also endorse this statement.

But the reality is, there isn't any more as large of a market for automakers to make the V8s. That era had it's peak when all the SUVs were enormous and desired. Before the gas prices went all crazy and people started becoming more aware of just how inefficient on gas these big engine vehicles were.

We are a small group of people that wants to stick with the V8 and accept the cost of gas. I see plenty of people writing on the forums, 'ohh, it's a V8, it's not like it's rare or special anymore like it use to be'. That may be true to a degree but the bottom line is, relatively speaking, there is a very small percentage of cars on the road that ARE V8 when comparing to the rest of the cars on the road. My intuition tells me that even though Audi may not keep the same type of folks that have been buying S4s for some time now (currently owning my second S4), their sales will likely increase because there is a larger market for people out there that are perfectly fine with a 4cyl that gets great performance while at the same time saving on consumption of gas, and therefore being environmentally friendlier. Many people don't place a lot of weight in their decision making on the sound of the car. The type of people desiring S4 will undoubtedly change.

Having said all that, I enjoy owning my S4 with a V8. And when the new line switches to V6 super and V4 turbo eventually, I will not buy the S4 anymore. I will purchase a V8 RS4 that is used by that time and keep that because even though V8s may become extinct on production line, it will NEVER happen in my own garage.

Just opinion...

[GQ//S4]

Bring.....back.....the.....bi-turbo......v6!!!!

[AudiOso]

They'll pry my V8 from my dead cold hands...

[xzone909]

4 Cylinder Engine for the S4? LMAO! What are they thinking? Just make it lighter like they are planning to do and stick with a forced induction V6. It's bad enough that they are dropping the V8.

[Buegie]

Bring.....back.....the.....bi-turbo......v6!!!!

this post is full of win

[JonF]

If it could produce >340HP, in a much lighter package... I'd be very interested. It would also help with the weight distribution.

[Mautino09]

How about one of these in the B9?

[B6JoeS4]

If it could produce >340HP, in a much lighter package... I'd be very interested. It would also help with the weight distribution.

how the hell did you end up finding/reading/relying to a 3 year old thread?

[Slow4]

Audi knows what they're doing

As of late, no they don't.

[Slow4]

How about one of these in the B9?

It's in the a6 (saloon and avant), Allroad and in the A7 sportbac.

If this went back into an S4, it'd be awesome

[dparm]

Nope, 4.2L FSI V8 + 7-speed DSG:


http://jalopnik.com/5880975/2013-aud...um-und-luggage

[BUD-S4]

Nope, 4.2L FSI V8 + 7-speed DSG:


http://jalopnik.com/5880975/2013-aud...um-und-luggage

No manual though... Lame. I don't give a shit how great this auto tranny is. I F**KING hate automatic sports cars!!!!!!

[dparm]

No manual though... Lame. I don't give a shit how great this auto tranny is. I F**KING hate automatic sports cars!!!!!!

Have you ever driven a dual-clutch? The shifting is basically instantaneous ** the car will be faster.

[LJH]

Have you ever driven a dual-clutch? The shifting is basically instantaneous ** the car will be faster.

I know that technically a DC transmission is "better" and I do have to say that driving a F430 with the F1 tranny was impressive to say the least but there is just something about having that left peddle.....what is better than a perfectly executed heal/toe down shift?

Between ABS, ESP, traction control, DC transmissions, park assist, lane assist, dynamic cruise control, etc, etc, etc modern cars are making their drivers soft. Give me a Caterham or modern TVR with none of this electronic nanny's stuff for a Sunday morning blast any day and grow some chest hair.....LOL


Cheers,
Jim

[ADV.1 Tony]

I have DCT in my 135i and my god it's a fun transmission. It almost teases you to drive fast though. In D mode in stop and go traffic it's kind of sluggish but once you put it into manual mode it wakes up and is unbelievable.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

That would be cool if they put the TTRS motor in the S4 and S5!

Jason

[LJH]

That would be cool if they put the TTRS motor in the S4 and S5!

Jason

5 Cylinder turbo FTW........

Cheers,
Jim

[dparm]

While I love the involvement of shifting myself, you can't argue with the performance benefits a good dual-clutch setup offers. Watch the YouTube videos of manual vs DSG GTIs. The DSG always wins.

[VMRWheels]

Not going to lie, 3,000lbs is pretty impressive. The brute force of a V8 would be a lot of fun, or even a FI V6, but we'll see how this turns out. I have faith that Audi engineers know what they're doing.

[dante18]

Why not lighter and the v8?

My thoughts exactly

[dparm]

My thoughts exactly

Harder to get 50:50 weight balance unless they mount it very far back (less cabin room).

[quattroism25]

Is the engine choice set in stone already? It would be awesome to have the new biturbo V8 in the RS4. I feel the RS4 should stay manual trans and drop around 200lbs