Audi's Diesel Strategy Includes High-Volume "E" Models

Audi is ramping up its alternative-powertrain strategy, announcing on Wednesday that it will be rolling out diesel-powered "e" models, as well as developing "hybrid systems for a number of model series." The German automaker threw down the gauntlet to competitors by claiming it will launch the "cleanest diesel" in the world starting in mid-2008, allowing it to meet future emissions limits.

"They will already undercut the most stringent emissions limits that are to be applied in the future in Europe as soon as production starts," Audi said.

The TDI lineup kicks off in 2008 with 3.0-liter V6 units in the Audi A4 and Audi Q7. The power plants deliver 240 horsepower and a peak torque of 369 pound-feet in the A4 and 405 lb-ft in the Q7. "Additional models will follow in rapid succession, with Audi seeking to extend the new technology to other vehicle classes and power categories by 2010," the company said.

The new diesel technology includes combustion-chamber sensors that enable even more precise regulation of the combustion processes in the engine. "This is the first time that such sensors have been fitted on any engine in the world," Audi noted. Fuel savings can be as much as 35 percent, versus "the average fleet consumption of [gasoline] engines typically fitted in the USA," Audi said.

The automaker also noted that "many Audi TDI and TFSI models will in future deploy an innovative power management system that capitalizes on coasting and braking phase by recuperating and storing electrical power. Furthermore, a next-generation start-stop system is currently being developed which lives up to Audi's standards of comfort."

The German automaker referred to its win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered car and said it has been "incorporating key findings from the world of motorsport directly into series-production development."