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| Audi R18 TDI |
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Add your comments on the Audi R18 TDI
| See The Intelligence And Feel the Focus.... |
| Kiwieb 05-04-2011 |
....as this awesome race car has both in spades and then some. Not since the wonderful McLAREN F1 Road Car have I seen a car so committed to one objective; in this instance a no-compromise-allowed LE MANS winner. And it looks stunning as well! So unusual for a contemporary race car to look so purposeful and yet have such pleasing, even beautiful lines. All nine LE MANS wins by AUDI have been achieved since 2000. They have dominated the race since then, only losing to Bentley in 2003 and Peugeot in 2009, and all of these wins were done by open-cockpit cars; five by the legendary petrol-engined R8. So why has AUDI forsaken a proven winning layout with the closed-cockpit-all-new R18 TDI? Well, as the excellent ULTIMATE CAR PAGE article says, this is in response to the drastic rule changes, which for the 2011 LE MANS 24 HEURES restricts the diesel-engined LMP1 cars to a third less engine capacity than they had in 2010. Cleverly, they chose a closed-cockpit for less drag; replaced the previous models 5-speed gearbox with a six-speed to better suit the V6�s reduced power and torque characteristics; saved weight by installing just one turbocharger [with Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG)] which in turn generated more weight savings by needing a single exhaust system and less ancillary parts. These solutions allowed the rear deck to be lower, further reducing drag [and centre-of-gravity for better cornering]. All in all a formidable racing package that surely must be striking fear into the hearts and spirits of PEUGEOT, their chief rivals, particularly after the recent LE MANS testing where an AUDI R18 TDI piloted by eight-time winner Tom Kristensen set a fastest lap of 3:27.687 - well under the 3:30 lap time the ACO, the LE MANS organisers, hoped would not be broken by the new cars. Quite an astounding feat, and all this in their very first time at the LE MANS track with the new car. The new R18 TDI certainly �looks the business� and I will be very surprised if it does not win LE MANS 2011 and by a substantial margin. Like the previous commenter to this thread, I too cannot wait for the actual race in June. P.S. I noticed a nice touch in photograph 13 of the article which showed � Michele 1956-2001� on one of the rear panels of the R18 TDI. This refers to well-performed ex Formula 1 driver and former LE MANS winner, Michele Alboreto who, on 25 April 2001 was tragically killed after a tyre blow-out caused his car to veer off track and crash into a wall while driving straight-line speed tests in an AUDI R8 at the Lausitzring, near Dresden in Germany. Somehow, I do see a car bearing his name again winning the 2011 LE MANS 24 HEURES and what a fitting tribute that would be - R.I.P. Michele. |
| A born winner ? |
| group c n b man 01-21-2011 |
The new Audi R18 looks absolutely stunning in my view, far more radical than any previous Audi LMP car. It looks like something from a far more advanced planet than earth with those aerodynamics and LEDs. It will be interesting to see how fast the R18 is compared with the R10 and R15. The rules for diesels get stricter every year except the manufacturers always seem to be a step ahead. The R18 has 149bhp/litre which is incredible for a diesel. It is only 40bhp down on the R15 despite losing 4 cylinders and 1800cc of displacement which is mind boggling. The ACO hasn't wanted cars to be capable of anything better than 3.30 laps of La Sarthe for about 4 years now. It doesn't look they are going to achieve this in 2011 either! I can't wait until Le Mans. |
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