Engine to be used across family of Volkswagen Group companies
Porsche unveiled a new twin-turbo engine at the 37th International Vienna Motor Symposium this past week. Having taken the lead for developing V8 engines for the Volkswagen group of companies, an entirely new engine should not be all that surprising.
The new 4.0-liter unit replaces the 4.8-liter V8 engine currently offered in the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne. It is related to Audi’s new turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine launched in the new S4 and Panamera as well sharing modular construction techniques as well as yet-to-be-named components.
The new engine will have two twin-scroll turbochargers and is rated at 550 horsepower, available at 5750 rpm, and 568 pound-feet of torque between 1960 and 4500rpm. Redline is at 6800rpm, putting the new engine on par with the 4.8-liter turbo powering the Panamera Turbo S.
While offering comparable performance than the engine it replaces, it does so with much less full. This can be attributed to the cylinder deactivation system or what the engineers call “half-engine mode” that is activated at low engine revolutions between 950 and 3500rpm. The result is reduction in fuel consumption of up to 30 percent.
Fuel efficiency is further optimized with the use of a start-stop system, which is ideal for hybrid applications, perhaps leaving open the possibility of turbocharged V8 power with an additional electric boost.
The transmissions that the new twin-turbo V8 will be paired with is an eight-speed automatic transmission with a torque converter and an eight speed dual-clutch automatic, both coming from ZF.
Seeing as Porsche is leading the charge in V8 engine development for the Volkswagen Group, expect to see the new engine in not only the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne but also top-of-the-range Audis, the Lamborghini Urus, and several models in the Bentley lineup.
