An Audi engine in my Volvo?
marginal » My Volvo 850 GLT 1997 has an Audi engine inside?
A friend of mine (former car mechanic) came to see the car yesterday, and declared that the engine is an Audi one.
He said that Audi makes 5 cyl. engines (which does not mean that because of that the engine in the Volvo is an Audi one, to me at least).
He also stated that Volvo does not produce engines since the 144 model (about 1967).
What do you think about that?
jblackburn » Somewhat. The Volvo 5-cylinder engine was designed in 1992 in conjecture with Porsche, which VW AG owns a part of, and the same design has been used ever since in almost every model at one point or another across Volvo’s lineup to this day, and some European Fords (Focus RS). The engines are all built/designed BY VOLVO at the Volvo plant in Sweden.
Old Audis (I believe the 100 and 200 models) used a simliar engine up until 1991, and then VW discontinued the engine and car. It was not until recently that they brought back the newly redesigned 2.5 5-cyl in the Rabbit and Jetta.
Is it true my Volvo has an Audi engine?
Last Updated on April 28, 2022
2 Comments
Having worked on and owned a 1995 S6 (20 valve 5 cylinder turbo) and a number of 5 cylinder Volvos including a 98 V70 “S,” the two engines obviously have a common heritage. Although the Volvo is a side-winder and the older A6/S6 is longitudinal, both cars utilize cam bearings in the “valve cover” (if you can call it that) which is very unique. Offhand, I can’t think of another engine that utilizes that design. The Audi version was a fantastic engine and powered Audi’s Quattro to many world titles. I remember talked to a gentleman who raced 20-valve turbo Quattros for many years who claimed it to be the strongest engine perhaps ever made. Even with 35 to 40 psi of boost thrown at it, producing plus/minus six hundred horsepower for sprints, the turbo 20 valves not only held together, they didn’t require many rebuilds in a season. He now races WRX’s because the old Quattro is no longer competitive, but said that if one boosted a WRX Subaru motor that much, it probably wouldn’t last a race. So the Volvo engine’s Audi heritage does nothing but say wondrous things about the 5-cylinder engine in Volvo.
Well more a VW than Audi engine. It was our only ‘Green’ engine, meaning diesel. We had ‘red’ colored engines for cast iron, and white engines being what we have today. Story I heard back then was we got it cheap from VW because they couldn’t keep it from tossing piston rods. We fixed it and used it for couple of years. What a beast. We later turbo charged some, as test cars and would light tires like no tomorrow. We stopped using it, giving it back to VW who used it for years in light duty commerical trucks.