|August 19, 2002
Audi A4 2.0 FSI
With the A4 2.0 FSI, Audi is now introducing a model with direct petrol injection in its second model series. The first vehicle with this technology, the A2 1.6 FSI, had its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2002. Both four-cylinder versions represent a new generation of spark-ignition engines enabling Audi to overcome the classic conflict of output versus consumption.
The 2.0 FSI in the A4 summons up 110 kW (150 bhp) and a torque of 200 Nm between 3,250 and 4,250 rpm. This allows the A4 2.0 FSI saloon to accelerate to from 0 to 100 km/h in only 9.6 seconds. Thanks to the new engine, it reaches a top speed of 218 km/h. The A4 Avant with FSI engine sprints up to 100 km/h in 9.9 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 214 km/h.
Just as characteristic as the sportiness of FSI engines is their distinctive efficiency - and the combination of both these properties qualifies the A4 FSI as the clear leader in its class. In view of the performance figures achieved, an average consumption of 7.1 litres of premium-grade petrol per 100 kilometres (overall according to 1999/100 EC) for the saloon and Avant is exemplary. The engine's emissions, of course, remain under the limits of what is currently the most stringent standard, the EU IV.
FSI engines achieve considerably more output and dynamism than conventional engines with indirect injection - with at the same time a major reduction in fuel consumption. With the increase in efficiency achieved here, Audi has opened up a new dimension in the efficiency of standard spark-ignition engines and once again demonstrated the proverbial progress through technology familiar to the brand.
Endurance test in motor racing
The testing of new technologies under extreme operating conditions has a tradition at Audi. The quattro drive had after all already impressively proved its potential in the Rally World Championship races in the 1980s. And the FSI petrol direct injection engine also proved itself in June 2001: the Audi R8 Le Mans winner was driven by an engine with FSI direct injection. This vehicle thus resembles the A4 considerably more than its appearance and the number of seats would imply.
For the winning team at Le Mans, the use of this new technology meant not only a much higher performance potential, but above all a reduction in fuel consumption by around eight percent - the prerequisite for correspondingly longer distances between refuelling stops. But that's not all. The drivers also praised the fact that an FSI racing engine allows them to control the power much more precisely than is generally the case with such power units.
When the Audi R8 with FSI engine won the Le Mans 24 Hours, this was not least the result of the unique combination of power and economy that characterises FSI technology.
Up until then the principle had been: whoever designed a new engine would have to choose between more power or economical fuel consumption. A conflict of aims that is as old as the spark-ignition engine and which progress had only resolved at most in nuances.
Audi is now presenting a new generation of engines that makes a quantum leap forward in terms of operating efficiency: the FSI principle is opening up a new dimension for the spark-ignition engine. This is a step forward that justifies comparison with Audi's pioneering work in introducing TDI technology. This too succeeded in combining high power output and an effective reduction in fuel consumption to a previously unattainable extent.