It
was 25 years ago that Audi first unveiled the TDI engine. The engine has since
gone on to become the most successful efficiency technology, both on the road
as well as the racetrack. The company achieved worldwide sales of around 7.5
million automobiles with a TDI engine. Also at the Le Mans 24 Hours a
TDI-powered model from Audi has been first over the finishing line on eight
occasions since 2006. Now there is more from the TDI family: the new,
fuel-efficient 3.0 V6 TDI generation, and the Audi RS 5 TDI concept with
electric charging.
Rupert
Stadler, Chairman, Audi AG said that “TDI is a pioneering achievement with
which we have brought efficiency onto the roads millions of times over.” TDI
technology has seen major changes in the last 25 years. For example, with the present-day
TDI clean diesel, Audi has reduced pollutant emissions by 98pc over the past 25
years. Over the same period, the diesel engine’s power and torque have doubled
relative to its displacement.
The
current study – the Audi RS 5 TDI concept – marks the first time that a diesel
engine has powered a high-performance RS model. A combination of V6 TDI biturbo
with an additional electric-powered turbocharger, the RS 5 TDI concept achieves
an output of 385 hp and up to 750 Nm of torque.
The
new generation of the 3.0 TDI will be making its debut in the updated A7
Sportback. With an increased output of 272 hp, the new 3.0 TDI is even cleaner
and achieves in the A7 Sportback 13pc better fuel efficiency than its
predecessor. The most economical Audi model powered purely by an internal
combustion engine uses TDI technology as well. This is the Audi A3.
Audi
is expanding its TDI business mainly in Asia and North America. It entered the Chinese market in 2008 with this
efficiency technology. The diesel initiative launched in 2009 in the United
States has transformed the image of this technology there in recent years.
Sales have clearly exceeded all expectations with sales of the Audi TDI clean
diesel in 2013 alone increasing by around 40pc. Audi of America today has the
most extensive range of diesel models in the U.S. premium segment and will be
adding the diesel version of the A3 Sedan to the TDI range, followed by the A3
Sportback TDI.
Today,
this diesel technology is especially popular among Audi customers in Western
Europe: Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy are the biggest markets globally
for TDI models. Over two-thirds of customers in the home market Germany ordered
a diesel in 2013. Worldwide, nearly 40 pc of all Audi cars built last year were
fitted with a diesel engine, with some 593,000 TDI powered units leaving the
assembly line.