2017 Audi RS5 TDI


Can a sports car ever be considered a sports car if it’s a diesel? Most U.S. enthusiasts will say no, with some of the European ones stating the opposite. The diesel engine has, and still is, a slower engine than a gasoline one. It revs less, it’s more reluctant to rev and it’s best suited for cruising. 

Audi’s RS5 TDI prototype proved once again that Audi isn’t afraid to challenge other manufacturers and indeed, the world. It likes proving that the impossible is possible and they might have done it again. 


The 385 horsepower 3.0 liter V6 TDI in the 2017 RS5 TDI is a prototype. A diesel’s strong side is the torque, something this V6 TDI has a lot of. 553 pound-feet of torque to be precise. They all arrive at just 1,250 rpm, making it a rocket ship right from the get go. Put your foot hard down and the RS5 TDI instantly leaps forward with a charge that a petrol engine simply can’t deliver. 

For a diesel it’s rev-happy, to the point that it almost feel petrol-like in characteristics. It will rev to an astonishing 5,500 rpm. It sprints to 60 mph in around 4 seconds and the 100 mph mark is hit in around ten seconds. The top speed is nothing short of breathtaking too, as it stands at 174 mph. Despite the increase in torque and power when compared to the 313 hp V6 TDI it’s based on, it actually uses less fuel on average. Now that is the diesel’s strong side, and we haven’t even gotten to the best thing about the RS5 TDI.


The 2017 Audi RS5 TDI is no ordinary diesel, or car for that matter. The crucial key to the insane numbers and mind-blowing performance is a Valeo electric supercharger. It sits at the cold side of the intercooler and thanks to a super low-inertia rotor, it can react in just 100 millisecond, spinning at up to 70,000 rpm. It operates independent of engine revs or load. Because of this, you can actually use the engine’s twin turbochargers to achieve maximum boost, a simply unbelievable 49.3 psi.

The 385 horsepower figure is achieved by the engine alone, with no assistance from the supercharger (at 4,200 rpm). The ample amount of torque (553 lb-ft) is available from just 1,250 and it carries all the way to 2,000 rpm. The Audi’s unit is much more petrol-like in feel rather than diesel.


Ideally, Audi wanted to fit their seven-speed DCT transmission in the 2017 RS5 TDI but it proved to be too weak, not capable of withstanding the immediacy of the torque. So, they went for the next best thing (for some better), the ZF 8HP eight-speed auto.

With the recent events engulfing diesel engines, more and more experts are predicting the death of the Otto engine as we know it. It’s only a matter of time before it gets replaced with electricity, but for the moment we can rest assured knowing diesels are constantly improving, so much so that we can now even claim a diesel car can be sporty.