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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Audi Unveils R18 E-Tron Quattro, Driver Lineup
New Audi Hybrid to debut in Six Hours of Spa FIA WEC round in May; Loic Duval, Marco Bonanomi and Oliver Jarvis land race seats in conventional-drive R18...
Audi Sport took the wraps off its new prototype challenger, the R18 e-tron quattro. (Photo: Audi Sport)
Audi took the wraps off its latest Le Mans challenger, the R18 e-tron quattro, Wednesday in Munich, also naming the driver lineup for its four-car effort in this year's twice-around-the-clock French classic.
The R18 e-tron quattro, the world's first diesel-electric hybrid prototype to race, features an innovative four-wheel drive system, where the electric motors are mounted on the front axle, while the conventional 3.7-liter V6 turbo diesel powers the rear axle.
Audi's flywheel-based hybrid system, which had been under development since February 2010, takes kinetic energy recovered from the front axle during the braking phase and turns it into additional power through the use of electric motors, which by ACO rules, can only be engaged at speeds over 120 kph.
“The TDI engine invented by Audi is still the most efficient drive in the world,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who drove the R18 e-tron quattro onto the stage Wednesday evening during its world premiere.
“We are convinced that the TDI has even more potential. This is why Audi not only supports the hybrid in motorsport as it does in production, but in parallel also the further development of the conventional drive.”
Both the R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra, Audi's updated conventional drive prototype, were developed alongside each other and share a common base, Ullrich said.
“This is a relatively short cycle for a technology that has never been tested in motorsport and which still doesn’t even exist in production,” said Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Technology at Audi Sport. “The challenge is correspondingly big.”
As the lightest Le Mans prototype ever built by Audi, the R18 ultra features an all-new gearbox with a carbon-fiber composite housing as well as improved cockpit visibility following last year's series of traffic-related accidents in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, including two monstrous shunts at Le Mans.
Both the R18 ultra and the R18 e-tron quattro will debut at the Six Hours of Spa in May, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will see a four-car lineup in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans one month later.
On the driver front, Audi confirmed that Loic Duval will join Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas at the wheel of the No. 3 R18 ultra for Spa and Le Mans, while 2011 test driver Marco Bonanomi gains a race seat alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Oliver Jarvis in the No. 4 machine.
Defending Le Mans winners Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer will lead the charge in the No. 1 R18 e-tron quattro, with veterans Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello aboard the similarly prepared No. 2 machine.
Three Audis will be in action at next month's WEC season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring, but running last year's car under a waiver by the FIA Endurance Commission.
Fassler, Lotterer and Treluyer will share the 2011-spec No. 1 Audi at Sebring, while McNish, Kristensen and Capello will be at the wheel of the No. 2. Defending Sebring winner Duval will make his Audi debut in the No. 3 car with Dumas and Bernhard.
Following Le Mans, Audi will run only one e-tron quattro, with its second WEC entry to become a conventional ultra entry. Lotterer and McNish have been the nominated drivers for the full eight-round WEC season, with their co-drivers to be confirmed at a later date.
PHOTOS: Audi R18 e-tron quattro
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
The R18 e-tron quattro, the world's first diesel-electric hybrid prototype to race, features an innovative four-wheel drive system, where the electric motors are mounted on the front axle, while the conventional 3.7-liter V6 turbo diesel powers the rear axle.
Audi's flywheel-based hybrid system, which had been under development since February 2010, takes kinetic energy recovered from the front axle during the braking phase and turns it into additional power through the use of electric motors, which by ACO rules, can only be engaged at speeds over 120 kph.
“The TDI engine invented by Audi is still the most efficient drive in the world,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who drove the R18 e-tron quattro onto the stage Wednesday evening during its world premiere.
“We are convinced that the TDI has even more potential. This is why Audi not only supports the hybrid in motorsport as it does in production, but in parallel also the further development of the conventional drive.”
Both the R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra, Audi's updated conventional drive prototype, were developed alongside each other and share a common base, Ullrich said.
“This is a relatively short cycle for a technology that has never been tested in motorsport and which still doesn’t even exist in production,” said Dr. Martin Mühlmeier, Head of Technology at Audi Sport. “The challenge is correspondingly big.”
As the lightest Le Mans prototype ever built by Audi, the R18 ultra features an all-new gearbox with a carbon-fiber composite housing as well as improved cockpit visibility following last year's series of traffic-related accidents in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, including two monstrous shunts at Le Mans.
Both the R18 ultra and the R18 e-tron quattro will debut at the Six Hours of Spa in May, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will see a four-car lineup in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans one month later.
On the driver front, Audi confirmed that Loic Duval will join Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas at the wheel of the No. 3 R18 ultra for Spa and Le Mans, while 2011 test driver Marco Bonanomi gains a race seat alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Oliver Jarvis in the No. 4 machine.
Defending Le Mans winners Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer will lead the charge in the No. 1 R18 e-tron quattro, with veterans Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello aboard the similarly prepared No. 2 machine.
Three Audis will be in action at next month's WEC season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring, but running last year's car under a waiver by the FIA Endurance Commission.
Fassler, Lotterer and Treluyer will share the 2011-spec No. 1 Audi at Sebring, while McNish, Kristensen and Capello will be at the wheel of the No. 2. Defending Sebring winner Duval will make his Audi debut in the No. 3 car with Dumas and Bernhard.
Following Le Mans, Audi will run only one e-tron quattro, with its second WEC entry to become a conventional ultra entry. Lotterer and McNish have been the nominated drivers for the full eight-round WEC season, with their co-drivers to be confirmed at a later date.
PHOTOS: Audi R18 e-tron quattro
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa
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