Audi Next-Gen RS6 Downsizing Mill?

It seems that Audi is thinking about things like engine size these days ... and if you think that car makers like BMW are already downsizing, this isn't all that surprising. Audi is already replacing the V-8 engine in their S5 and S4 models with a smaller supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 unit. And it looks like Audi is looking at doing the same thing with other engines.

For example, look at the 3.2-liter V-6. That mill will be gone from the 2010 model year TT, the A4 3.2 quattro Tiptronic and A5 3.2 quattro manual, as well as the A3 3.2 S-tronic quattro. There's even an ugly, ugly rumor that Audi might drop the V-10 option from the R8 supercar.

Naturally, Audi is doing this because of rising fuel economy and emissions standards building up all around the world. So the next generation of the RS6 will most likely get a V8. There's no word on whether that will be a naturally aspirated unit, or if it will feature a turbo or supercharger.

That has been the direction a number of high performance car makers have been heading. BMW most notably has been making noises about smaller displacement engines with some form of forced induction. Even Ferrari has some recent design studies with smaller engines and big blowers of some sort.

There's nothing necessarily wrong about doing stuff like that. If you can get the engineering right, you can get phenomenal power outputs. By the late 1980s, turbocharged Formula 1 cars were getting well in excess of 1000 horsepower from engines only displacing 1.5 liters.

There is, of course, a bunch of potential downsides. For starters, there's weight (depending on the size and configuration of the original plant). But more importantly, there's an added complexity that goes along with turbos. The more parts, the parts there are to break, for one thing.

And all of those turbo parts are generally going run very, very hot. Which means you have to make them with more attention to detail, but also that you have to package them within the engine bay with regards to thermal loading. But the bottom line is the bottom line, and if you can get the same power output from a smaller engine, you essentially win.

Source: Motor Authority. Photos from Motor Authority and Flickr user The Car Spy.