This is an article by Fourtitude with Wolfgang Hoffman - who is the Director of Product Planning for Audi of America. The whole article is a good read but I want to focus on the particular issue of the new turbocharged engine Audi is set to release. In my opinion it will be something akin to the 2.7T they had in the previous generation A6 and S4. Personally I think that is a great idea. If you read the whole article you will notice that he would not confirm there is an RS6 (though we pretty much know that from all of the spyshots) yet he would confirm that new turbo engines are coming. He also said new performance engines would be coming for the A6. Knowing that these people are masters at interviewing it makes sense that he was not talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Here are some excerpts of what he said:
What you will see in the future is probably a little more concentration on the A6 and making that an even more successful car. It outsold, on a worldwide basis, the E-class and the 5-series in 2006. So, the question is, why don't we achieve that here? We ask this question to ourselves all the time. Obviously, pricing is an issue and so on. It is also an awareness issue. We are going to work on that.
We work now on the packaging structure. We work on the appearance. The new model year will look completely revamped. We will do something very nice for the model year. We will make the car look much sportier.
I think that is also really important to focus on, because the C segment… what we call it,.. the A6, is really important for your overall image. These are the opinion leaders. These are the people, the drivers, the shapers, the makers in a society. People look at them. What is he driving? It is really important for us to be there and have a much better share. I would be pleased if my ratio to the competition on the A6 was much closer to where it is on the A4, where we are much, much stronger.
That has to be the goal. We have to increase our market share in the segment and we have the car and the performance. We are going to introduce nice performance engines here in the U. S. and I think we have a good package to compete against our European friends and give them a run for their money. I think that is the direction where Audi has to go, because that then opens up the opportunity to draw more people in from the smaller segments.
He says later:
Fourtitude: Turbos have always been a big part of Audi's heritage - today, pretty much relegated to the 2.0T. You see BMW with a turbo mid-range, similar to offerings you have had in the past. Do turbos fit on the top end now, or is that more of something left to other technologies like FSI, valvelift, etc.
Hoffmann: We haven't announced anything about that. But to answer shortly, yes. I think you will see something really exciting in the future with a turbo. Definitely.
Fourtitude: Will it be in the realistic realm, perhaps the B5 S4 or in the exotic realm like what the RS6 was in the past?
Hoffmann: It will be in a more of a high volume segment. You will see something nice in the near future. That is all I can say at the moment.
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