Audi drops engine size in new model names

Audi has announced a new naming structure that will see its cars categorised by power output, rather than engine displacement.

Current models sold by the German car giant are designated by the name of the series followed by the engine displacement and type, such as the A8 3.0 TDI.

However, AutoExpress reports Audi is swapping the engine displacement in the name of its models for a double-digit figure that represents the power output of a given car.

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"The two digit numbers aren’t direct transplants of the car’s power output in any particular measurement", the magazine says, as the company has instead "chosen a handful of non-related numbers that will apply to certain cars based on their power outputs measured kW."

Under the new structure, vehicles with a power output between 81 and 96kW (109 to 129bhp) are represented by the 30 name, while cars that have 169 and 185kW (227 and 248bhp) engines are given the 45 name. The double-digit figure rises by five for each power band.

For example, the Audi A8 3.0 TDI will be called the A8 50 TDI as it has an output of 210kW (282bhp). The 250kW (335bhp) engined A8 3.0 TFSI will now be named the A8 55 TFSI.

The highest number in the company's new nomenclature is 70, which Autocar says is reserved for cars with 400kW (529bhp) powertrains and above. However, performance cars such as the R8 and RS6 are exempt from the new system.

Audi's marketing and sales chief, Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter, said: "As alternative drive technologies become increasingly relevant, engine displacement as a performance attribute is becoming less important to our customers."

"The clarity and logic of structuring the designations according to power output makes it possible to distinguish between the various performance levels", he adds.

The company says it will roll out the power-based naming structure on new models "in the coming months", while existing models in the range will be changed next summer.