3 cylinder engines; Thanks, but no thanks, says Audi!

BMW shocked a quite of us last year when it announced the move to three pot diesels. All kinds of arguments, from too many vibes to a boring engine ensued in the interim, until BMW cocked a snook at everyone to announce the first three cylinder diesel engine in the all new F30 3 series sedan. Now that BMW has kickstarted the trend, compatriot and competitor, German automaker Audi found itself in the center of questions on whether it would also go the three cylinder way in future car models. Thanks, bu No thanks says Audi.

Audi A1 Sportback, a car that will use cylinder deactivation technology!

Instead, Audi will focus on the cylinder shut off technology it first showcased with the Audi S8 sports saloon. Now, cylinder deactivation technology isn’t anything new. Plenty of automakers from Honda to Volkswagen, have all been showcasing this technology for quite a few years now. But it isn’t until recently when cylinder deactivation technology has come to the forefront considering the ever increasing pressure on automakers to come up with higher fuel economy even as they work on making the earth a cleaner, greener place by cutting down on tail pipe emissions.

An illustration of cylinder deactivation on an V8 engine

To give you an insight on what cylinder deactivation is all about, picture this. You’re cruising at a steady 80 on the highway, where you can do with just half the power you’re using up currently. Cylinder deactivation will promptly stop in and shut fuel supply to two cylinders, while the rest of the cylinders continue to do duty and keep running. A few minutes later, you want to overtake the 18 wheeler hogging a lane and a half, so you mash your foot down for some brisk progress, holy-moly, the other two cylinders, which were shut off until now, kick in seamlessly to give you that extra torque for getting up and ahead.

This technology is what Audi says will fit in its future scheme of things and hence, more and more Audis of the future will feature cylinder deactivation technology rather than downsizing by going the three pot way.

Via WhatCar

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