- Audi is exploring hybridization to keep the RS3’s five-cylinder alive
- The EA855 engine fails Euro 7 rules taking effect in November
- Only the RS3 and Cupra Formentor VZ5 currently use this engine
In an era when emissions rules are tightening faster than powertrain cycles can keep up, even the most distinctive engines are under pressure. Just as we’d started to pour one out for Audi’s iconic 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder, knowing it was on the chopping block, a new report suggests the carmaker could keep the five-pot alive through hybridization.
As it stands, the EA855 fails to comply with Euro 7 emissions regulations coming into effect in November. For Audi to bring it into line, the engine would need new NOx sensors, a particulate filter, more restrictive catalytic converters, and revised injection mapping. Those changes may be difficult to justify, given the engine is currently sold only in the Audi RS3 and Cupra Formentor VZ5.
Read: Audi Is Killing Its 5-Cylinder Engine, But One Market Still Has Time
Quizzed by Autocar about how the engine might survive, Audi Sport boss Rolf Michl said the brand is exploring every possible route. Converting the five-cylinder into a hybrid stands as one potential solution..
Not Dead Just Yet
“We are open to every possibility. The thoughts [on how to do that] will continue at our end. I can tell you we are still thinking in different technological possibilities,” Michl confirmed. “At the end of the day, the most important thing is the maximum amount of emotional driving experience for the compact segment. We are absolutely aware of the DNA of a five-cylinder engine, and we are open to every possibility.”
Lamborghini has already shown that hybridization can extend the life of a large-capacity engine, keeping its 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 in production. From a technical standpoint, applying a similar approach to a 2.5-liter five-cylinder seems feasible. The more difficult question is whether the investment makes sense, especially given the engine’s limited production run.
Regardless of what happens with the 2.5-liter turbo, it will remain on sale in the US in its current form longer in the US than in Europe. Indeed, production of the current RS3 will continue in Hungary through to the middle of next year for markets like the US.