The Next R8 Might not Get a V10

Speaking to Automotive News recently, Audi’s new Vice President of Research and Development wondered whether the brand’s biggest engines were still entirely necessary.

“Do we really need a V10 and a W12 for the next generation of cars?” he asked rhetorically. The comments came following questions about the brand’s plan to drop up to 40% of its current drive systems.

The move would be doubly useful for Audi, since the whole VW Group is still on a cost-cutting mission to fund the massive dieselgate bill while funding electric mobility, but would have implications for the R8 and the A8.

Luckily, not all big engines are on their way out.

“We have a very important group of customers that really want eight-cylinder engines in larger vehicles,” Mertens told Automotive News. “Will it exist forever? No, but [it will] for a rather long time.”

Mertens was recently hired away from Volvo, where he was the R&D chief. Given his history there, his penchant for downsizing engines is hardly a surprise. Volvo’s biggest engine, by cylinder count, is currently an inline-4 and Mertens was once quoted as saying that cylinder count is irrelevant.

Still, the R8’s main attraction is the big, naturally aspirated V10 that hangs, perfectly balanced, in its middle. To drop that, as it now seems will happen for the car’s next generation, might take away a part of its soul.

By implication, Lamborghini will also be required to rethink drivetrains for the next generation of its (briefly) Nurburgring-lap-record-holding Huracan.

On the other hand, the RS7 will reportedly make up to 700 hp with its hybrid V8 and 650 hp with its twin-turbo V8. So would a V8 really be the end of the world?

[source: Automotive News]

The post The Next R8 Might not Get a V10 appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2xQTBxQ
via IFTTT

Comments

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog