The supercharging system in the next generation of Audi passenger and performance cars will come from the Eaton Corporation. Installed on the German automaker’s 3.0-liter TFSI V6, the supercharger is from Eaton’s Twin Vortices Series (TVS) and will help the direct-injection engine make 290 horsepower while returning 24mpg on average, according to Eaton execs.
The Eaton TVS features the company’s newest Roots-type positive displacement design, with two four-lobe rotors that are twisted at 160 degrees. The original Eaton supercharger design used three lobes twisted at 60 degrees. The new design is more efficient in getting air into the redesigned air inlets and outlets, while reducing noise and vibration; two things a luxury automaker like Audi is highly interested in. The design also makes it compact, making packaging tight and allowing it to fit in-between the banks of the V6 engine.
In the A6, the blower will be tuned to deliver 11.6psi of boost, with the engine rated at 290hp. In the S4, output is believed to be in the 330hp range, while the RS4 would make more than 400 horsepower. Like car platforms, automakers are increasingly using engines that can be used in a wide variety of vehicles. Nissan ’s VQ V6 engine series is a prime example, as is Audi’s own 2.0-liter TFSI inline-four.
Eaton also supplies a version of its TVS blower for the new, $100,000, 628hp Corvette ZR-1 and the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. The supercharger made its production car debut last year in Australia, under the hood of the TRD Aurion. It was first seen on North American soil at the annual SEMA aftermarket parts show bolted on a Roush Mustang.
