What in the name of everything at Ingolstadt is a 55 TFSi? Does it have 55 horsepower or is the engine a 5.5L monster? Sadly, none of those are true and Audi’s new boot-lid numbers are merely a range of escalating / sliding power categories.
| Number | kiloWatt | Horsepower |
| 30 | 81 – 96 | 109 – 128 |
| 35 | 110 – 120 | 147 – 160 |
| 40 | 125 – 150 | 167 – 201 |
| 45 | 169 – 185 | 226 – 248 |
| 50 | 210 – 230 | 281 – 308 |
| 55 | 245 – 275 | 328 – 368 |
| 60 | 320 – 340 | 429 – 455 |
| 70 | 400+ | 536+ |
These new nomenclature / numbers still appear in front of the usual TFSi or TDi badges, denoting turbo- (and/or super-charged) petrol as well as turbo-diesel engines. In some cases, e and e-Tron will also be used.
And the reason why?
“As alternative drive technologies become increasingly relevant, engine displacement as a performance attribute is becoming less important to our customers,” explained Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter, Board of Management Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.
M’kay.
There is a degree of truth to this statement as we often receive questions on our Youtube Channel (www.youtube.com/GalimotoMedia) about the power outputs of VWAG products. Especially the performance videos of 2-litre petrol and diesel models tend to get people leaving comments to the tune of: “Is this the 140 or 180PS version?”
South(ern) Africa often receives de-tuned or less powerful derivatives of the VW Group’s many available engines so it makes sense to re-badge their various products according to power outputs.