If you’ve been following our blog so far, then you may be under the impression that it’s all about Detroit muscle cars. Contrary to popular ‘misconceptions’, European car manufacturers are also very interested in torque 
. The reason for the increased interest in forced induction on the OEM side of things is that superchargers, turbochargers, and volumetric efficiency tuning are three ways that car manufacturers can boost power output for their new cars, all the while keeping or even reducing their engine displacements.
The advantage to the manufacturers of using a smaller engine (year after year) while raising advertised peak power figures (again year after year) is that they produce a package that is as enticing as it is logical. We all know that horsepower sells cars, but that’s only a one dimensional view of the market. As oil prices rise, price sensitive consumer trends become a more dominant explanation of the market, and a more important input into the factors driving the decision making with all car manufacturers alike.
Here are two great examples provided by VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group) of leveraging supercharger performance to produce a great, affordable, and fuel efficient car:
The first is the new Audi A6 3.0 TFSI:
“The model designation of the A6 3.0 TFSI (3.0T in the United States) is misleading. Normally, TFSI means turbocharged direct injection, but in this instance, the turbo has been replaced by a supercharger, because it was easier to package in the V between the cylinder banks, costs less than two turbos and their associated plumbing, and is more fuel efficient.”
“The prime attraction of the A6 3.0T is the potent yet very civilized supercharged engine, which is every bit as quick as the more expensive and even thirstier 4.2-liter V-8.”
“The supercharged V-6 produces 300 hp at a sedate 5100 rpm and 310 lb-ft at a leisurely 2500 rpm.”
“At 5.9 seconds, the Audi is the quickest to 62 mph, and it extends this lead all the way to the 125-mph mark.”
Audi using supercharged technology on their midsized sedans comes as no surprise, as the company (VAG: Volkswagen Audi Group) has recently been experimenting with supercharger performance on some of their other cars including the VW Scirocco 1.4TSi and the VW Golf Mark VI which was labeled as the world’s car of the year:
“The Volkswagen Golf VI was chosen from an initial entry list of fifty-one (51) entries nominated by fifty-nine (59) World Car jurors from twenty-five (25) countries throughout the world.”
One of the things I would personally like to see is some other cars in the VAG group (namely Lamborghini) jump on the supercharger effort. Thinking realistically here, the high end lambos have always had a heritage of naturally aspirated exhilarating and operatic engine sounds. The main equation for that lambo will always be a high revving, naturally aspirated 12 cylinder producing an aural assault. However, it’s smaller brethren such as the Gallardo and spyder may be a great candidate for a special edition track focused package coupling the existing 10 cylinder motor (or an even lighter 8 cylinder engine) with a healthily sized supercharger creating a screaming power package with gobs of torque.
I don’t think this will ever happen, but I do remember that at one time there was a twin turbo Diablo VT-TT available on special order and wonder if there are still a handful of enthusiasts out there as crazy as I am wanting to see a Lambo Reventon V12 supercharged to over 1000 hp being delivered through the awesome Lambo / VAG all wheel drive with a 7 or 8 speed semi automatic transmission.
Find the complete articles here:
VW Golf Mark VI, world car of the year
Luxury Sedan Comparison: 2010 Mercedes Benz E350, 2009 Audi A6, 2009 BMW 528i
