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rado-steve

VR6 Engine Design History???

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Tried trolling the search and Nothing..google is useless :(

 

Does anyone have any info/links to the design origins of the VR6 lump???

 

Somebody mentioned VW pinched it off Mercedes and I've also hears VW nicked from an old V4 lancia design???

 

Sure I've seen pics of an old sirrocco with a v6 fitted?? Just puzzeled why VW went with a cam chain when everything else is belt driven???

 

Anyone help??

 

Cheers

 

Steve

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Yeah Lancia were the first to put one cylinder head across 2 banks of cylinders, but it was cr@p apparently. Just as they did with the G Lader (a french design), VW improved the VR engine, made it work reliably and mass produced it.

 

I suspect they used a timing chain to keep the engine as short as possible so that it would fit in the Corrado and MK3 Golf. I'm not sure running it on diesel influenced that because it's a major peice of design and engineering and a complete waste if not followed through. A V6 TDI in a FWD platform was probably deemed a tad ridiculous due to the high torque and the 02A gearbox probably couldn't handle it either.

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Yep - was designed to fit in a Golf and mounted that way obviously...

 

Prototype of the 'RV6' was developed in 83/84 and as above was meant to be a diesel at first.

 

Sure we had a thread about this somewhere?

 

Obviously it was a great bit of design and the 24v versions were still being produced up until recently but now VAG will not make any more apparently and the only car still available to buy with this engine type is the R36 passat

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Yeah, it's due to emissions.

 

That's what I was moaning about in a different thread. The fact VW and other car makers are still keeping the big engines for luxury barges (to ferry the Brussles bureautw@ts around in) but the mass public has to put up with tiny 4 pot engines.

 

Still, all is not lost because the VW 5 pot motor (probably of Volvo origin like the Focus's) the Yanks have had for years is coming over here too and imo, sounds a lot better than any of the V6s.

I believe the new TTS is a 5 pot?

 

It does make me laugh though. How does lopping off a cylinder or 2 and then shoving loads of boost into it = a much leaner engine than a large capacity V6? It doesn't, it's horeschitt. Getting 250hp out of a 4 pot will use just as much fuel on boost as getting 250hp out of an R32.

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The TTRS is indeed garnished with a 5-cyl turbo engine producing about 330BHP. Apparently Audi wanted a 5 cylinder lump for the TTRS but didn't have one they could use 'off the shelf' as they stopped making 5 cyl engines some time ago. They found a 2.5 litre 5 cyl being used by VW in the Jetta in the USA, took the design and recast it in stronger / lighter materials and then set to work fettling it.

 

Would love to hear what it sounds (and goes) like! :)

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Was surprised to see an all alloy straight 5 in a Toerag the other day, although it was an oil burner turbo. Thought straight 5's in VW's died with the 1980's passat.

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5 pot 'Rabbits' were everywhere when I was in the States last year Jim, and they sound bloody nice! Even with a strangling Californian spec exhaust, there as a deep, underlying bassy throb when they pulled away.

 

The standard 5 pot motor the US has turbos very well indeed. Quite a few on the Vortex making 500 or more hp, so Audi's strengthening wasn't entirely necessary, but it's better for us when they hit the scrapyards :D

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The RV6's head flows the other way to the VR, hence the distributor take off on the back of the block under our exhaust manifold...

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