According to recent reports, Audi of America has major product changes for 2010 including the elimination of both 3.2-liter VR6 and 3.2 V6 FSI (90 degree) engines as well as the death of the S8.
The Volkswagen-derived 3.2-liter staggered six VR engine has a long history (almost 20 years) in the VW/Audi lineup and as of 2009 it was featured in the A3 and TT while the FSI V6 in the A4. Although no direct comments from Audi specify the reason behind dropping the 250 horsepower (265 hp in the A4) engine, it seems that the engine's take rate was far below expectations, especially when it had to contend with the more efficient and only slightly less powerful 2.0-liter turbo.
While slow sales are likely to blame for the 3.2-liter's demise, the S8 and A8 W12 are getting the axe because Audi is preparing to launch a new A8 in 2010. It remains unclear if these models will return to the lineup after the next-generation A8 is introduced because they also posted less than stellar sales figures.
Now that the big news is out of the way, the other death for 2010 is the elimination of the front-wheel drive Audi TT with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
Despite all this doom and gloom, Audi will introduce US consumers to the new S4 sedan, add an entry-level 2.0-liter turbo A5 coupe, and launch the highly anticipated R8 V10.
