![]() In Europe, the Audi fives lasted until 1997, in the A6 and S6 (the successors to the 100, 200, and 5000). Audi sedan, 2.2-liter turbo models were making as much as 220 horsepower. By 1991, the five-cylinder’s final year in a U.S. Still, various versions of the five-cylinder 5000 wound up on our 10Best Cars list every year from 1984 through 1988 (although a sudden-acceleration scare during these years nearly drove Audi out of the U.S. ![]() Indeed, turbocharged versions of our 1980s-era 5000 sedan made less power than Audi’s original naturally aspirated five. While European models sported the 100 and 200 monikers, Audi used the 5000 nameplate in the United States, where the engine’s output was strangled by power-sapping emissions modifications. By 1989, the 100 TDI introduced direct injection, turbocharging, and electronic management, making the diesel good for 120 horsepower. In 1978, a diesel five rolled out making 70 horsepower. Based on the Volkswagen EA 827 four-cylinder, the 2.1-liter five made 136 horsepower in the 100 5E, an upmarket sibling to the base four-cylinder cars. Ten years later, Audi’s second-gen 100 would gain an all-new inline-five and cement Ingolstadt’s obsession with this engine type, which continues to this very day. The first 100 coupe and sedan established their semi-premium status soon after Audi became an official Volkswagen division in 1966. By 1999, Honda had moved on to another engineering quandary, the gasoline-electric Insight. But the five-cylinder 2.5 TL wasn’t any more vigorous, and while Honda billed it as the sportier model versus the six-cylinder 3.2 TL, it disappeared after 1998. By this time, Honda fitted electronically adjustable hydraulic engine mounts to the aluminum block to enhance smoothness. That engine carried over to the Vigor’s replacement, the 1996 TL. ![]() When the Honda Vigor arrived stateside as an Acura for 1992, it used the more powerful 2.5-liter good for 176 horsepower. Three of the engine’s five cylinders were located behind the front axle, and a driveshaft ran alongside the flywheel. Although these engines drove the front wheels, Honda mounted them longitudinally for more even weight distribution. The G-series 2.0- and 2.5-liter inline-fives first appeared on Japan-market Honda sedans in 1989. Always up for an engineering challenge, Honda dabbled in five-cylinder engines while studying how to build small jets. ![]()
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