Audi has confirmed plans to outfit the next-generation RS 4 with a downsized engine.
The company will trade the existing naturally-aspirated 4.2-liter V8 powerplant for a smaller turbocharged V6 unit. It is unclear if the engine will be an all-new design or a retuned version of an existing mill.
“I think that power has increased more than enough, and of course other performance is improved too,” Audi Quattro head Heinz Hollerweger told Car and Driver.
The comments suggest the V6 will deliver a tangible power improvement over the V8, which produces 420 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. Electric turbocharghing technology has been mentioned as a potential feature to help improve performance at low rpm.
Hollerweger suggested Europe is becoming a “less important” market for Audi as the company focuses on improving growth in the US and China. There is a “glimmer of hope” that the RS 4 will be offered in the US market, but only as an Avant wagon or an RS 5 Sportback.
“The potential in China and the U.S. for RS models is getting us thinking about body styles that may work there–maybe a hatchback, like the RS7,” the executive added.
Audi is reportedly planning on introducing the RS 4 early in the ninth-generation A4‘s life cycle. The basic sedan will be formally unveiled later this year in Frankfurt, before arriving in showrooms next year for the 2017 model year.
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