“International Engine of the Year” Awards: Audi’s 2.0 TFSI engine wins in its class

The 2.0 TFSI from Audi has won the “International Engine of the Year” award in the category of engines with between 150 and 250 metric horsepower. An international panel of experts comprising 70 automotive journalists voted the four-cylinder gasoline engine the winner of its class. The award ceremony took place as part of the “Engine Expo + The Powertrain Technology Show 2019” at the exhibition and trade center “Messe Stuttgart” today.

According to the jury, the four-cylinder engine is “one of the most flexible and versatile engines ever to be developed—in short, it can do it all.” Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Technical Development, explains this strength: “We are delighted to receive this award, because it acknowledges the versatility of the 2.0 TFSI. We use it not only as a pure gasoline engine, but also as a plug-in hybrid drive and for operation with natural gas or Audi e-gas.”

Rothenpieler is particularly proud of the success record of the TFSI technology. The head of Audi Technical Development looks back: “We introduced the first TFSI to the market in 2004. Since then, we have achieved class victory with a TFSI at the awards every year.” Between 2005 and 2009, Audi won the two-liter category with the 2.0 TFSI, and between 2010 and 2018, the company won in the larger class with the five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI. Following the switch from displacement-based to horsepower-based categories in 2019, the two-liter four-cylinder engine is back on the winners’ podium.

The abbreviation TFSI stands for turbocharging and direct injection; Audi was the first automotive manufacturer in the world to mass-produce this combination in 2004. The brand started its downsizing strategy, i.e. replacing displacement with charging, with the first 2.0 TFSI, the A3 Sportback drive. A new engine generation followed in 2007: What was known as EA (Entwicklungsauftrag, development order) 888 was designed for the global markets. It rolled off the line at the Hungarian plant in Győr, in Dalian, China, and other locations.

The “engine of the world” is suitable for longitudinal installation in the larger Audi models as well as for lateral installation, including in the Group brands Volkswagen, Škoda, and SEAT. Over the years, new solutions were incorporated into its technology package time and again. In its latest version, the four-cylinder engine presents a special efficiency technology from Audi: What is known as the B-cycle combustion process is designed specifically for partial load, which is the predominating mode of operation. With a moderate driving style, the 2.0 TFSI achieves the efficiency of a small-displacement engine, while offering the dynamics of a large engine at a sporty pace.

The 2.0 TFSI currently drives numerous Audi models from ten product lines and its power spectrum extends up to 180 kW (245 metric horsepower). And the success story goes on: At the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, Audi presented the Q5 as a plug-in hybrid variant*, where the 2.0 TFSI works in conjunction with a powerful electric motor. The four-cylinder engine is also used in the g-tron models in the medium-size class. They use natural gas (CNG) or Audi e-gas, a type of fuel for which Audi uses a sustainable process to produce large quantities itself.