40 Years of Five Cylinders
Friday, September 9, 2016 at 12:00AM By Christopher A. Sawyer
In 1976, Audi launched the Type 43 Audi 100 sedan with something that had been tried and tested but never produced: a five-cylinder inline automobile engine. (Henry Ford toyed with the idea in the 1930s, but the design’s unbalanced firing order and the consumer desire for more power ended that project, though Ford investigated overhead cam/aluminum block and head versions up until his death. Lancia, on the other hand, produced five-cylinder engines during World War II, but only for trucks.) Because the 100 was moving upmarket at the time, Audi wanted to offer more than a four-cylinder engine under the hood. Even if that inline motor was the VW Group’s economical and powerful new EA 827.
Building on this base, company engineers investigated both five- and six-cylinder inline engines; discarding the six when it became apparent that it would require a longer front end, and adversely affect handling. Thus, work proceeded on the five-cylinder variant, with the 2.1-liter fuel injected motor debuting in the Audi 100 with 134 horsepower. Buyers also could order the EA 827 four-cylinder, the same engine used in the smaller Audi 80.