Thought the Classic V8 Engine was Dead and Buried? Think Again!
Posted on Fri 25th Mar 2016 at 11:10
The throaty roar of the V8 turbo diesel has been somewhat muted over recent years. You might be forgiven for thinking that it was on the way out completely, but Audi are working hard to reverse this process by introducing some nifty technological changes.
Early reports suggest their new V8 is due to grace the next generation A8 in 2017, but we think the engine inside the marque's new SQ7 TDI gives a pretty good indication of what to expect. This V8 engine comes with 429 horsepower and 663 lb-ft thanks to an electric compressor, two turbochargers and a 48‑volt electrical subsystem. What this means, essentially, is that turbo lag could well be the thing of the past. The electric compressor assists the turbochargers, which are activated selectively depending on the amount of power needed, and activates in less than 250 milliseconds.
The engine also has Audi's new valvelift system, which ensures that things such as cylinder filling can be optimised without any delay - resulting in more power even at high engine speeds. The new engine powers the SQ7 from 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, and we can't wait to see how the new style of engine is applied to other models such as the A8.