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Audi reveals 'rightsized' 2.0 TFSI engine for next A4

Downsizing engines is a trend sweeping the industry. It's not a new thing, and downsizing helps automakers cut fuel consumption and emissions while employing techniques like turbocharging and direct injection. Audi, however, is taking a different approach with its latest engine. Revealed at the Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria is Audi's newest trick powertrain. Where others are going with smaller engines, Ingolstadt's latest displaces a nice round 2.0 liters, employing a shorter intake time to use less fuel. It's sort of like the Miller cycle that Mazda brought to market on the old Millenia, only turbocharged (instead of supercharged) and brought up to date. Audi calls the four-pot "rightsized," producing 190 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque across a broad rev range, while getting 47 miles to the gallon – and that's on the US cycle, which is tougher than the European standard a company like Audi would usually quote. In short, it's designed to provide power where needed but only sip at the fuel tank when it's not, but the geekiest among us will want to delve into all the intricacies outlined in the announcement below. The engine is set to power the next-generation A4 before being rolled out in additional models in the future. Ingolstadt/Vienna, 2015-05-07 World premiere at the Vienna Motor Symposium: new high-efficiency engine from Audi - New 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder engine with innovative combustion method - Top figures: 190 hp, 320 Nm (236.0 lb-ft), less than 5 l/100 km (47.0 US mpg) - To be implemented in the new Audi A4 by the end of 2015 - Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg: "A prime example of the Audi rightsizing strategy" Audi presents the most efficient two-liter gasoline engine in its class. The new 2.0 TFSI with 140 kW (190 hp) demonstrates the engine expertise of the brand – with a ground-breaking new combustion method. Audi will be using the engine for the first time in the next generation of the A4. Over ten years ago, Audi was the first manufacturer worldwide to bring the TFSI engine with turbocharging and direct injection into series production. This made the brand with the four rings the trendsetter in downsizing and downspeeding. "We're now taking a crucial step further with rightsizing," said Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG.

Junkyard Gem: Fully depreciated 2001 Audi A8 L 4.2 Quattro

A great big A8 with a long wheelbase and all-wheel-drive is just the thing for a serious player with an oligarch-grade bankroll and the need to get to important corporate meetings during the worst Colorado snowstorms, and we're betting that's how this 15-year-old A8 L's original owner saw it. The problem with cars like this is that big, complicated, expensive machinery tends to develop big, complicated, expensive problems once the aging process sets in, and third or fourth owners of high-end German luxury cars tend to lack the resources needed to keep those cars going. So, those S-Classes and 7-Series and A8s end up in a place like this when something expensive breaks at age 15. This one, which has a very straight body and decent interior, now sits in its final parking space, among the Daewoo Leganzas and Volvo 850s in the imports section of a Denver self-service yard. If you're good with the wrenches and have some Audi expertise, you can't beat the luxury-per-buck deal of a solid 10-to-15-year-old A8; the price for a runner tends to be about the same as that for a tattered Corolla of the same age. This car's base price was $69,946 in 2001, or just over 95 grand in inflation-adjusted 2016 bucks, and it's packed full of leading-edge engineering that's still fairly advanced today. Related Video:

Audi joins the car-sharing party with Shared Fleet

Seeing the success Zipcar and Daimler's Car2Go, more auto manufacturers are cutting out the middleman and jumping into the car sharing business. General Motors, Ford, and BMW have all introduced or announced their own programs. And now Audi has now thrown their hat into the ring with its Shared Fleet program. Like its competitors, Shared Fleet will be accessed through an app. The fleet consists of a mere three all-new and fully loaded 2017 Audi A4s and will be rolled out in a small pilot program in Durham, North Carolina. Audi plans a nationwide fleet for sometime in 2017. Through the app, customers will be able to locate and unlock vehicles. Pricing is currently unknown, but it is likely to be based off the time used, not the distance driven. The pilot program will be based at American Underground, a technology incubator in North Carolina. This will give Audi the chance to get the program into the hands of tech savvy users who have likely used competing programs. More than 700 employees at 200 companies are based at the facility. This isn't Audi's first foray into the car rental business. They previously invested a large amount into Silvercar. They also operate Audi on Demand in San Francisco, a similar program to Shared Fleet. With Audi on Demand, users can drop cars off at their destinations. Related Video: