The new Audi A6's dust covers haven't hit the ground yet, but sources are already insisting the German brand is preparing a V8 onslaught -- and one that might even see the new car cracking sub-four second 0-100km/h sprints.
Wary of BMW's upcoming turbocharged V8 M5, Audi has ditched the old RS6's twin-turbo, Lamborghini-sourced V10 for an all-new turbocharged V8 engine family of its own, sources insist.
Developed in conjunction with its British brand, Bentley, two versions of the 4.0-litre, turbocharged V8 will sit beneath Audi engine bays, including a crunching 414kW version for the RS6. It is believed Audi has developed a single-turbo version of the engine for the S6, S7 and S8, along with a twin-turbo version for even-higher performance demands.
While it will also be fitted to the Bentley Continental series to provide an entry-level motor, the more-upmarket brand will retain its own, larger, 6.7-litre turbo V8 for the Mulsanne.
The new engine will also find its way inside the A8 and the A7 and will boast direct-injection and a 90-degree vee, but will retain Audi's traditional bore spacings and will still be built in Gyor, Hungary before being shipped across to Quattro GmbH.
Inside the lighter, stiffer A6 chassis, the all-alloy, twin-turbo version should propel the RS6 into the low four-second bracket for the sprint to 100km/h (the 220kW, 3.0-litre, super-charged V6 version already manages it in 5.5).
The raucous old, twin-turbo V10 RS6 sedan had 426kW of power and could sprint to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, but that's just a tenth quicker than the hot-hatch RS3 can manage today.
While Quattro boss, Stephan Reil, recently insisted the monstrous twin-turbo V10 has a future inside RS Audis, the output differences between it and the twin-turbo V8 seem so negligible that its retention would make little sense, either economically or in terms of performance.
Sources instead insist the new engine will mate inside the RS6 to a stronger version of the A6's current double-clutch seven-speed gearbox and will use the crown-wheel centre diff technology that has proven so successful on the RS5. The engine's torque is said to be in the 620Nm region, or close to the old V10's 650Nm output, though it's a lighter engine in a lighter car.
While it will be slower, Audi will sell more of the single-turbo versions of the engine when it fits it to S versions of both the A6 (pictured) and the five-door A7. The high-tech, 4.0-litre motor will produce at least 315kW of power and will eventually find its way inside the A8's engine bay as well.
Both V8s will continue the handling improvements that the new A6 benefits from, with the RS6, in particular, losing a significant amount of weight from on top of its front axle.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...