Audi will become the world’s first car manufacturer to compete in the 24 Heures du Mans with a diesel-engined sportscar.
The Audi R10 was unveiled in Paris yesterday with the German car maker aiming for its new "open-top" sportscar to continue in the wheeltracks of its ultra-successful predecessor. It's scheduled to make its race début in the Sebring 12 Hours (USA) next March before contesting the gruelling Le Mans race on 17-18 June.
The all-new Audi R10 is powered by a new 5.5-litre, 12-cylinder twin-turbo TDI engine, said to be "extremely quiet and economical". The V12 produces over 650bhp and a meaty 811lb-ft of torque -- and it's venturing into unexplored territory not just from the point of view of the race, but also because the engine is manufactured completely from aluminium.
Audi reckoned that the V12 "is hardly recognisable as a diesel thanks to the engine’s smooth running." The injection pressure exceeds the 1,600 bar achieved in production cars.
And the usable power band lies between 3,000 and 5,000 revs per minute -- unusually low for a racing engine -- although the driver need change gear in the R10 far less often than in the R8 because of the TDI engine’s chunky torque curve.
Radical changes to the chassis were also necessary. The Audi R10 has a significantly longer wheel base than the R8. The overly wide front tyres are, up until now, unique for a Le Mans Prototype. New technologies were also implemented during the development of the carbon-fibre monocoque. Chassis, engine and gearbox form an extremely rigid, fully stressed unit.
The new Audi R10 successfully completed its first test at the end of November while an extensive test programme is scheduled prior to the car’s race début at Sebring.
"The R10 project is the biggest challenge ever to have been handed to Audi Sport," said Audi Motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. "TDI technology has not been pushed to its limits in motorsport yet. We are the first to confront the challenge. The demands of such a project are accordingly high. Long-term technology partners such as Bosch, Michelin and Shell support us in our quest. Together we have the chance to write new chapters in the history books of motorsport and diesel technology."
"With the A8 4.2 TDI quattro, Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars in the world," said Audi boss Prof Martin Winterkorn at the R10 presentation in Paris. "The Le Mans project will help our technicians to extract even more from TDI technology. Nowadays, every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine. We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even larger in the future."
Audi said that, as with the TFSI (turbo petrol direct injection) technology, which triumphed initially at Le Mans before being adopted for mass-production, Audi customers will benefit from the lessons learnt in motorsport.
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