Driveline Output Basis for New Audi Model Names

Audi announces a new naming process that will see all new models feature designations linked to driveline output rather than traditional capacity.

Conceived in a move Audi says will see future models reflect the added performance delivered by electric-powered hybrid systems and/or all-electric systems such as that being developed for the company’s new e-tron SUV due out in 2018, the new naming process groups together models on a scale of 30 to 70, with 30 designating models with power output between 109 hp and 129 hp, and 70 reserved for models packing more than 536 hp.

The names increase in increments of five depending on the specific model’s output.

In an example of its new naming system, Audi says the Q2 1.6L TDI will become the Q2 30 TDI.

The new system initially calls for eight new model names:

The 55 name is yet to be officially confirmed.

The designation of each model is linked directly to the output of the driveline irrespective of its layout. The new names will apply to all standard Audi models with either a gasoline, diesel, natural gas, plug-in hybrid or electric driveline.

“As alternative-drive technologies become increasingly relevant, engine displacement as a performance attribute is becoming less important to our customers,” explains Dietmar Voggenreiter, head of sales and marketing at Audi.

“The clarity and logic of structuring the designations according to power output makes it possible to distinguish between the various performance levels.”

The rollout of Audi’s new models begins in the third quarter with the new A8, in which the traditional 3.0 TDI becomes the 50 TDI and the existing 3.0 TFSI nomenclature will be replaced by a new 55 TFSI designation.

The new Audi names only apply to standard models. “S and RS and the Audi R8 will retain their classic names in reference to their top position in the model range,” the automaker says.