In the midst of four- and six-cylinder Audi engines, a newly refined V8 engine which is going to refresh the memories of those good old days when V8 diesel engines were more like a rage in Europe. Like a decade ago, all the luxury saloons – Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class – and large SUVs used to have them under the hood.
The 4.2-litre V8 diesel engine from the Mercedes-Benz was even used in the E-Class too. They were loved for their performance and sheer muscle but refinements in V6 diesel engines snatched that position from V8s until now.
Only a few top-level SUVs in the European market still use V8 diesel engines like the Toyota Land Cruiser, Range Rover and even the VW Touareg – for Russian market – and rest of the flagship saloons abandoned them.
But Audi never has given up on V8s, it still uses them in the A8 luxury saloon in 4.2-litre form that produces 379bhp. The company is adding more power and torque for its top-dog four-door which will be offering a differentiating powertrain option.
Audi is going to introduce its next-generation V8 TDI engine at Vienna engine symposium in late April. At this moment, the details of the engine are still sparse but it is expected to producing well over 400bhp and around 500lb-ft. of torque, hopefully.
The next-generation Audi A8 is set to make its debut in early 2017 and sources tell that it will be powered with one of these engines and a bunch of new Audi technologies. They will be so powerful that it will take only four seconds to reach 62mph.
Other applications of this engine could be VW’s large SUV models and Panamera from legendary Porsche. There are some chances of next-generation Bentley Continental to be using this engine.
