Engine developer at Audi wins the Hans List Award

* Dr. Stefan Dengler honored for the Audi valvelift system

Dr. Stefan Dengler, an Audi engine developer, was presented with the Hans List Award at the FISITA World Automotive Congress in Munich. The 35-year-old mechanical engineer received the prize – worth 50,000 euros – for developing the Audi valvelift system (AVS).

This technology facilitates intelligent control of intake valves and exhaust valves in gasoline engines. This consequently increases power and torque while reducing fuel consumption. Audi is already using this innovative technology for its direct-injection V6 FSI engines with 2.8 and 3.2 liters of displacement in the A4, A5, A6 and A8 as well as for its inline four-cylinder TFSI engines with 2.0 liters of displacement in the A4, A5 and Audi Q5.

Dr. Dengler is the inaugural recipient of the Hans List Award, which is presented by AVL List – a developer of engines and powertrain systems in Graz, Austria – to people who distinguish themselves "internationally by outstanding, innovative achievements in vehicle powertrain engineering."

An international panel of experts chose Audi’s technology and this Audi engine developer from among some 70 entries. Dengler, Head of Design and Mechanics for pre- development of gasoline engines at Audi, accepted the prize from Helmut List, CEO of AVL.

The two-stage, variable intake Audi valvelift system’s straightforward design can handle anything up to 7,200 rpm, thus maximizing peak power output. The additional degree of freedom in the valve gear further reduces fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.

Moreover, the technology is neutral due to its compactness within engines and allows for efficient manufacture in modular systems. During the course of developing and producing the AVS, no fewer than 60 patents were applied for – 13 of which have already been granted to Audi. Components are made at Audi’s engine-production plant in Györ, Hungary.

Audi considers AVS technology – which took six years to develop – to be a solution with enormous future potential. In theory, future upgrades could even completely shut off the intake of fuel at individual cylinders. AVS technology demonstrates its strengths especially well in the large Audi A8. This luxury sedan’s 2.8-liter V6 delivers a powerful 154 kW (210 hp) while consuming just 8.3 liters of fuel per 100 km (28.34 US mpg). In addition, the A8 emits just 199 grams of CO2 per kilometer (320.26 g/mile) – the lowest of any luxury vehicle.

And the Audi A4’s new 2.0 TFSI requires just 6.6 liters of fuel per 100 km (35.64 US mpg) in order to provide 350 Nm (258.15 lb-ft) of torque (from 1,500 rpm to 4,200 rpm) while performing at 155 kW (211 hp; from 4,400 rpm to 6,000 rpm). The A4 is therefore the most fuel-efficient vehicle in its power-output category.

- Eric Felber- photo audi