In the quest to get engines to perform better, while using less fuel, Audi have announced that they are working on a version of their V6 TDI engine which uses an electric turbocharging system. It features both an electrically-driven compressor, as well as a regular turbocharger.
The idea is that the electric compressor builds up the boost pressure quickly, for it to be used by the regular turbocharger, thus eliminating lag and giving the engine even more elasticity at both low and high revs.
Audi has yet to release and information on the new engine, but we do know that they are using the 3.0-liter V6 bi-turbo TDI as a testbed - that engine develops 313 hp and 650 Nm, but with the new forced induction system, those figures may be even higher, or at least spread along a very wide rev range.
Via AutoEvolution