Volkswagen working on new VR6 engine

Volkswagen is pushing ahead with development of a new narrow-angle V6 direct-injection gas engine, sources from the German carmaker's engineering headquarters based in Braunschweig reveal.

Engineering for the new engine is being overseen by Volkswagen's new head of engine development, Fritz Eichler -- who in a previous position led the development of the current generation of Mercedes-Benz AMG powerplants -- continues with a swept volume of 3.0-liters and an unfashionable 15-degree cylinder bank angle. It has been conceived for transverse mounting.

But unlike the earlier naturally aspirated VR6, the new engine has been designed to run forced induction, with Volkswagen insiders hinting at a twin-turbocharged setup, as previewed on the engine used by Volkswagen's flamboyant Design Vision GTI shown at the Woerthersee fan meet in Austria in May 2013. The transversely mounted twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine used in the Design Vision GTI was claimed to boast a narrow angle design and develop 496 bhp along with 413 lb-ft of torque between 4000 and 6000 rpm.

Development versions of the new engine are described as being less heavily tuned with a specific output on par with the various incarnations of Volkswagen's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which suggests a power output between 340 hp and 450 hp. By comparison, the most powerful version of the original VR6, a 3.6-liter evolution used in the Passat R36, produced 295 hp.

The new VR6 is set to be used in a number of new Volkswagen models in selected markets, including replacements for the Passat, Passat CC, a production version of the CrossBlue concept, and possibly a successor to Scirocco as well as a number of Volkswagen commercial vehicles.

By Greg Kable