Audi RS4 V8 axed: official

The next Audi RS4 will be two cylinders short of greatness as the V8 is ditched in favour of a smaller, more advanced engine – potentially with electrification.

One of Ingolstadt's most revered performance cars, the Audi RS 4 has been powered by a free-spinning naturally-aspirated 4.2-litre V8 for the last decade. In its latest iterations it developed more than 300kW and together with quattro all-wheel drive and a trademark wide-body kit earned the vehicle a fearsome reputation.

But the V8 dynasty appears over, with Audi's head of development Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, one of the German car maker's most influential executives, telling motoring.com.au that the new A4 – upon which the RS4 is based – will not get a V8 engine.

"We will not have a V8 for the A4, for the smaller cars," said Hackenberg.

"There's a trend that the engines will be smaller and it's a question how we can turn our core values into new technologies."

It's been reported that Audi will persevere with a new V8 engine and Hackenberg confirmed this, saying "I think actually we will have V8 engines for the big cars, for the SUVs."

But the company will soon follow in BMW's footsteps in swapping out the RS4's V8 for a smaller, most likely six-cylinder engine, expected to be a high-output evolution of the 260kW turbo 3.0-litre V6 found in the new Audi S4 – possibly with electric turbocharging.

That would mean that the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus IS will be the only mid-sized luxury cars offered with a V8 engine – unless the Jaguar XE joins the eight-cylinder club in due course.

While the new RS4 will lose the V8, it will continue to stalk the BMW M3, based on performance numbers at least. But at the other end of the spectrum, the A4 will not copy the 3 Series in adopting frugal three-cylinder engines.

"We have three-cylinder in the group, we have three-cylinder in Audi vehicles but will we have three-cylinder in the A4? I would say no," Hackenberg said.

In Australia demand for the brand's potent RS models are outstripping supply but Audi Australia's managing director, Andrew Doyle, says the dropping of the RS4's lusty 4.0-litre V8 is unlikely to dissuade customers.

"I don't believe it will," he stated.

"I think that customers are after the pleasure of driving and the dynamics that come from that. The figures from the S4 provided today are an indication of where we're going," he said, reflecting on the turbo V6's 500Nm torque figure, which is significantly more than the current RS4's 440Nm.

Hackenberg also implied that it's not all bad news for RS4 buyers, with several new technologies at the car maker's disposal to ensure power, response and engagement levels are maintained – if not eclipsed.

"Take sportiness and electro-mobility – they are not going different ways. Big torque, electric motors, you have high acceleration so you can make a very sporty vehicle, but maybe different to the sportiness of today."

So will the next Audi RS4, expected to debut later in 2016, adopt hybrid technology? Hackenberg, parried the question: "A specific hybridisation will be in every Audi car in the future," was all he would say.

"We will have electric turbo, recuperation, electric generators, micro hybrids, then various sporty full hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

"I think electrification in a specific way will be standard in the future," he posited.

The original Audi RS4 from 1999 was in fact a twin-turbo V6 engine, so the German car maker does have heritage on its side when it makes the switch.