Prepare For Confusion: Audi Is Bringing In A New Two Digit Naming System

Once upon a time, badges denoting engine sizes were very common. The trouble is, engines are getting smaller, and are often supplemented by hybrid power. Since your average premium car buyer probably isn’t going to want to advertise a dinky engine on the rump of their well-specced chunk of German metal, what’s the solution?

For Audi, the answer has often been not bothering with an engine size badge at all, but it now has a new way: almost every model is going to get an extra two digits on its name - ranging from 25 to 70 - that refer power output. Wait, what?

Yep, you’ll need to prepare yourselves for the likes of the Audi A1 30 and the A8 55, where 30 means 81kW to 91kW and 55 means 245kW to 275kW. Thankfully, S, RS and R8 models have been left alone.

It is worth pointing out BMW does much the same with the latter two digits of its model names, but since they’re fully numeric and many models now share the same basic engine, they can’t really refer to engine size like they always (roughly) used to. What Audi is doing on the other hand seems unnecessary, rather inelegant and potentially confusing for regular customers. Here’s hoping there’ll be a de-badge option.

The new system will appear on cars arriving in summer 2018, starting with the A8, so there’s still time to wrap your head around it all. Need a handy cheat sheet to decipher the numbers? Take a look below:

25 - 80kW and under (106bhp)
30 - 81kW to 91kW (107bhp to 127bhp)
35 - 110kW to 120kW, (145bhp to 159bhp)
40 - 125kW to 150kW, (165bhp to 198bhp)
45 - 169kW to 185kW (223bhp to 244bhp)
50 - 210kW to 230kW (278bhp to 304bhp)
55 - 245kW to 275kW (324bhp to 363bhp)
60 - 320kW to 340kW (423bhp to 449bhp)
70 - 400kW and over (529bhp)

Sources: Audi, Autocar