Most of the time the cylinder numbers in our vehicles come in even numbers. This allows for the balanced firing of pistons to help avoid the vibrations that would reach the cabin and cause driving to be unbearable. Much like the advancements that are being made in the world of turbocharging and added horsepower while creating lighter vehicles, now we have vehicles that are more capable of using an odd number of cylinders while still returning some great power and performance to give you the feeling you want in a car that has an odd cylinder setup.
We’ve seen how some cars can have some great power from a four-cylinder engine, but Audi felt four wasn’t enough for the TT RS and added a fifth to give us a sound and performance we can seriously enjoy. This TT RS is a growling and roaring machine of power that only uses five cylinders in the engine, which means you have a car that’s lighter than most while offering you the power you want from under the hood, how can you top that?
To get a bit more specific, the TT RS uses a 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder setup that is capable of producing 400 horsepower and 354 lb.-ft. of torque. This is attached to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission and is given AWD to allow for better grip on the road and more performance. With this powertrain you can enjoy the sprint to sixty MPH in only 3.7 seconds in this beautiful little sports car. If you’re wondering how this compares to the other TT models when it comes to power, the base TT only offers you 220 horsepower and the upgraded TTS gives you 292 ponies from their four-cylinder engines, making the TT RS the king of the lineup and the car you want to drive.
While a five-cylinder engine certainly would be heavier in this car, Audi has done a masterful job of working to reduce the weight as much as possible. They have built the engine from an aluminum block and used magnesium for the oil sump which makes for a full 57 pound weight loss over the outgoing five-cylinder engine that Audi previously produced.
Why does Audi stick to the five-cylinder layouts? One of the reasons is the loyalty of the fans who want to enjoy this layout in their vehicles. As much as Mazda continues work toward making the rotary engine one that is more admired, Audi has had five-cylinder engines in the lineup for many years and continues to enjoy the success of adding one more cylinder to the mix.
This is a rare but admirable car that we will get to enjoy in the US but only in the coupe model with the automatic transmission, but it certainly is a great sports car that you can have with the Quattro AWD system and the increased power of having a fifth cylinder under the hood. This car can be your daily driver and take you to the track for some amazing fun when you want it.
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