Audi announces new vehicle designations

Audi is preparing to rebadge its model range to reflect power output rather than engine displacement.

Model names will remain the same, so the A4, SQ7, etc, will still be around.

But rather than have the engine’s displacement in the vehicles extended badging (take the Q7 3.0 TDI, for example), models will now be classed by output, with designations ranging from 30 to 70.

In this case, the Q7 would become the Audi Q7 50 TDI, as its 200kW output falls between 210 and 230kW.

There appears to be no mathematical reason for these badges, but Audi board member for sales Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter claims it will help customers recognise vehicles when engine size no longer reflects a vehicle’s power output – especially for hybrid vehicles in Audi’s e-tron range.

“As alternative drive technologies become increasingly relevant, engine displacement as a performance attribute is becoming less important to our customers.

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

The following list as reported by Greg Kable for Autocar outlines the correlation between each badge and the power output associated with it:

- 30 for models with between 81 and 96kW

- 35 for models with between 110 and 120kW

- 40 for models with between 125 and 150kW

- 45 for models with between 169 and 185kW

- 50 for models with between 210 and 230kW

- 60 for models with between 320 and 340kW

- 70 for models with more than 400kW

The new Audi A8 will be the first to see the new system introduced, with the 210kW 3.0 TDI becoming the A8 50 TDI, and the 250kW 3.0 TFSI becoming the A8 55 TFSI.

Audi adds that performance vehicles at the top of its range will retain the badging they already have, so the S and RS models and the Audi R8 will remain the same.