Audi's Legendary Five-Cylinder Engines Might Be Here To Stay
The Audi five-cylinder engine has been one of the most significant powerplants for the brand for over 50 years, since first appearing in the Audi 100 in 1976. The five-cylinder engine has had a significant impact on the Audi brand over the years, powering iconic models like the RS2 and the Quattro, one of the fastest rally cars of all time.
Today, the legendary Audi five-cylinder engine appears in only two vehicles — Audi's own RS 3 and the Cupra Formentor VZ5, a high-performance SUV with only 4,000 units planned for production. It's identified in VW Group parlance as EA855. The real obstacle facing the production of the only remaining five-cylinder engine is the upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations, which take effect November 29, 2026. To meet these very stringent requirements, this engine will require major changes to its fuel injection, sensors, catalysts, and filters to remain compliant with these new standards.
Audi understands the importance of this five-cylinder engine to the brand's sporting identity, and wants to keep it in the lineup. We've looked at what makes Audi's five-cylinder engines a thing of beauty, so there are a lot of reasons why it should stay. One path that Volkswagen could take is to use the EA855 in more vehicles, thus spreading the Euro 7 compliance costs among more units that would be produced. Another is to develop a hybrid system that would partially electrify the five-cylinder powertrain, letting it emit fewer pollutants by using e-motor assistance. No decisions have been made, but there isn't a lot of time left.
A few more details on Audi's inline-five
Audi's five-cylinder engine has a rich history, accompanied by a unique soundtrack from its odd number of cylinders. From its debut in 1976 with 136 horsepower, the five-cylinder's power steadily increased, thanks to turbocharging, in both road and rally cars, up to 444 horsepower in Audi's Group B rally car in 1984. Audi would go on to win the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in 1987 in a 590-horsepower Sport quattro S1. This was surpassed Audi's own IMSA GTO touring car two years later. This one had 710 horsepower from a 2.0-liter version of the engine.
Fast forward to the present, on June 21, 2024, when Audi driver Frank Stippler set a lap record in the compact car class on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, shown above. He achieved a time of 7:33.123 minutes in a pre-production version of the RS 3 sedan.
The Audi RS 3 has 394 horsepower, and that goes to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all four wheels through the Quattro AWD system. The RS 3's torque-vectoring rear differential even lets yoy drift it. Car and Driver managed to achieve a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.7 seconds at 118 mph. Cornering on the skidpad measured 0.98g. Pricing for the 2026 Audi RS 3 starts at $67,495 including destination.