The Challenge Bibendum Rally, which this year was staged in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, was the context in which consumption, emissions, driving safety and handling characteristics were all assessed. After all its qualities had been taken into account, the Audi A5 3.0 TDI emerged ahead of its challengers. It came out on top in the categories Handling, Acceleration and Emissions. This achievement was squarely attributable to the technology that makes the TDI the cleanest diesel in the world – its ultra low emission system. Though the Audi A5 was entered in the Prototypes category in Shanghai, this system is virtually ready to go into production: the Audi A4 and Audi Q7 will be the first car lines to feature the 3.0 TDI with ultra low emission system, due to go on sale in 2008 in Europe and the USA.

Various engine measures optimise the combustion process and with it the untreated emissions; an exhaust aftertreatment system cuts nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90 percent. The new high-tech TDI engines already comply with the emission limits that will probably apply in Europe from 2014, and satisfy the toughest emission limits in the world – the LEV-II BIN-5 standard that applies in five US states.

The Audi A3 Sportback 1.9 TDI e demonstrated in the Michelin Challenge Bibendum just how efficient the standard TDI models of the brand with the four rings already are: its consumption was clocked there at an average of 3.78 litres per 100 kilometres. Audi presented the prototype A6 Avant 2.7 TDI, with yet more near-series technology on board in the form of two intelligent energy management modules. A microhybrid recovers energy during braking and freewheeling, and a start-stop system switches the engine off at traffic lights. The V6 diesel that propels the large Avant with 180 bhp of power thus achieved an excellent average fuel consumption of 4.68 litres per 100 km. The Audi A5 3.0 TDI with ultra low emission system achieved a reading of 5.79 litres/100 km. In view of its very dynamic performance, this too is an excellent figure.

"We will be cementing the position of the TDI as a highly efficient form of propulsion," said Axel Strotbek, member of AUDI AG's Board of Management with responsibility for Finance and Organisation, in Shanghai. Wan Gang, Minister for Research and Technology of the People's Republic of China, and Hu Yanzhao, Deputy Mayor of the city of Shanghai, also took the opportunity to find out more about TDI technology and its pioneering significance at the Challenge Bibendum.

The TDI is a cornerstone of Audi's global strategy for the future; it combines superior power with low fuel consumption. Audi is therefore currently drawing up a scenario for launching its TDI engines, the most successful efficiency technology in the world, on the Chinese market. TDI engines are capable of harnessing escalating fuel consumption specifically in China, and therefore also CO2 emissions. Diesel-powered passenger cars have hitherto been virtually unknown in China; the introduction of the low-sulphur fuel that they require now satisfies a vital requirement for the operation of modern, low-pollution TDI engines.