Beetle V5: Five star

摘要

The five-cylinder engine and the New Beetle both appeal to individuals who like to be different from the mainstream, says Peter Noad... IT WAS 30 YEARS AGO that Audi surprised the motoring world by introducing an engine with five cylinders, regarded by most people as an oddity. Five was an odd number and it was generally presumed that, in order to produce a smooth, evenly-running engine, you needed an even number of cylinders. This wasn't true, of course, and the Audi designers chose five in order to combine (almost) the smooth-running quality of a six with (almost) the light weight and compact dimensions of a four.