A decade ago, V-8 diesels were all the rage in Europe. You could get them in large SUVs and luxury sedans, including the Audi A8, the BMW 7-series, the Mercedes-Benz S-class, and the Volkswagen Phaeton. At Mercedes-Benz, the 4.2-liter V-8 diesel even trickled down to the E-class. Their smoothness and sheer muscle surpassed the ubiquitous V-6 diesels, but consistent improvement in the output and refinement of the six-cylinder engines saw the eights’ influence fade.
Today, they survive only in a few European-market top-level SUVs: The Toyota Land Cruiser has a V-8 turbo-diesel, you can get the Range Rover thus equipped, and VW still offers one in the Touareg especially for Russia. But the V-8 diesel has all but disappeared from flagship sedans. Only Audi still has a V-8 diesel, a 379-hp 4.2-liter unit in the A8. You’d think that the segment is doomed. But instead of killing the V-8 diesel off like the rest, Audi is adding power and torque in a quest to offer a differentiating powertrain option for its top-dog four-door.
Indeed, we’ve heard that at the Vienna engine symposium in late April, Audi will introduce its next-generation V-8 TDI. Details are sparse at this moment, but we understand the engine will produce well over 400 horsepower and around 500 lb-ft of torque. The engine will launch in the next-generation A8, slated for its debut in early 2017. It will hurl Audi’s all-aluminum behemoth to 62 mph in just over four seconds, we hear. Down ...