An Audi R8 or Lamborghini Huracan with a five-cylinder engine? It could happen.
Recently, the Volkswagen Group unveiled the Audi TT Clubsport Turbo concept featuring such a 2.5-liter powerplant, boasting 600 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. And while it may seem sacrilegious to consider a five-cylinder engine in an exotic like the Huracan, Asian tax laws could force the automakers to use the technology in order for them to take advantage of the market in China. Both the Lamborghini Huracan and 2016 Audi R8 are powered by a 5.2-liter V10 naturally-aspirated engine, with neither offering an alternative powertrain.
SEE ALSO: Audi TT Clubsport Turbo Technology Concept Boasts 600 HP
Until now, there was no viable engine setup that would offer the performance expected from an R8 or Huracan that would comply with Asian tax laws. But the turbocharged and supercharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder in the Audi TT Clubsport Turbo actually generates 60 hp more than the V10 found in the R8. By keeping the powerplant under 4.0 liters, the Volkswagen Group would fall into a lower tier on the annual consumption tax, which jumps from nine percent for a 2.0-liter engine to 40 percent for 4.0-liter engines and above. The scale is linear, so a 2.5-liter plant would save a noticeable sum of money on the R8 and Huracan in China.
The crazy thing? Audi and Lamborghini would probably have to detune the powerplant so that the five-cylinder didn’t offer more performance than the naturally-aspirated V10. It’s worth noting that Audi has not approved a development project to outfit the R8 with a smaller engine, although it has been talked about. Lamborghini President Stephan Winkelmann has acknowledged that a smaller, boosted engine would help in China.
[Source: Car and Driver]
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