A new super diesel from Audi and the first one from Maserati

Audi-A6-AvantAudi unveiled its A6 Avant last week. Avant is how the Germans call their station-wagon. It’s not imaginative, it’s exactly like everybody thought it would be. You have to look under the hood to find something new, and that is a new diesel engine. Not totally new actually, as the 3-liter V6 TDI has been around for a few years, but this new version has 2-turbochargers. Power? How about 313-hp? That’s more than 100-hp per liter! Audi hasn’t released a full spec sheet yet, and we don’t know how much torque this engine makes but I’m expecting around 450-lbs/ft.

Real-world fuel consumption shall be around 35-mpg, and that makes you understand why so many people are driving diesels in Europe. When it comes to big luxury sedans, like the Audi A8 or the BMW 7-series, diesel’s market share is more than 50% in Europe, taking more than 75% in France or Germany. If there was something surprising, it was that Maserati hadn’t launched a diesel yet. Its beautiful Quattroporte sedan would sell much better with a strong, clean and modern diesel, and that’s precisely what it’s about to get.

Car and Driver said it first. My guess is that Maserati will get a higher output version of the 3-liter V6 recently introduced in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. This engine is coming from VM, it could get 2 turbochargers and a trickier direct injection system to make it worthy of the Maserati name. I’m expecting more than 300-hp, and I’m expecting them as soon as next year.

One thought on “A new super diesel from Audi and the first one from Maserati

  1. Alex

    The new A6 Avant is coming out with an advanced super-diesel engine, and it is expected to achieve greater level of fuel efficiency compared to its previous version models.