Since 1989, TDI technology has helped to make the diesel engine an overwhelming success. Development has been in multiple steps, with forced induction, fuel injection and emissions controls being the major drivers. Over the course of these 25 years, the TDI has seen its power and torque relative to displacement increase by over 100 percent, while pollutant emissions have come down by 98 percent over the same period. To date Audi has produced roughly 7.5 million cars with TDI engines – nearly 600,000 in 2013 alone. TDI technology from Audi has an impressive history of success and a bright future. The completely redesigned, low-emissions 3.0 TDI clean diesel represents a new milestone, and the new 1.4 TDI clean diesel with three cylinders will soon debut in the compact models. In the V6 TDI engines, a supplemental electric compressor will provide for the immediate development of power even at low rpm in the future, making the driving experience even more visceral and sporty. With the exception of the Audi R8, TDI engines can be found in every model series, and the best-selling model is the 2.0 TDI with nearly three million units sold so far.
“25 years of TDI mean a quarter-century of progress, efficiency, dynamics and power,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, Technical Development. “We look back on this time with pride. For the TDI, which Audi brought to the market before any other carmaker, is today the world’s most successful efficiency technology. It thus made a big contribution to our brand’s upward positioning in the premium segment of the market.”