The new Volkswagen Golf R hasn’t yet made its official debut, but here’s one thing it probably, most likely won’t have: an Audi-sourced five-cylinder turbocharged engine. Word is Audi didn’t want the VW to have that engine because sharing would apparently dilute the brand.
Volkswagen was allegedly considering stuffing a five-cylinder into the upcoming Golf R. Indeed, there have been reports the automaker testing out five-cylinder motors, but it doesn’t seem like anything of the sort will make an appearance in its new car.
Audi supposedly straight-up refused the idea, reports Dutch outlet Autovisie, which wrote, “Volkswagen asked Audi if it could use its 2.5-liter five-cylinder petrol engine from the TT RS, RS3 and RSQ3, among others, for its most potent Golf. Audi did not have to think long about that. According to one of the parties involved, the answer was a resolute no.”
“The Golf R is simply a direct competitor to Audi Sport. We will not let that happen that it will have the same power source,” an unnamed Audi employee was quoted as saying (via Google translate). Though Donkervoorts and KTMs have Audi five-cylinders, “That doesn’t bite us. It is also good for the Audi image.”
Production capacity is also an apparently concern. The person went on to say, “Manufacturing the five-cylinder is very laborious. It is just not manual work. This makes it very drastic to increase the volumes.”
Pity, that. Five-cylinder engines are cool and good. They sound great. But the rejection is also understandable. A five-cylinder Golf R would certainly have been priced below the Audi RS 3. We couldn’t have that!
via Motor1