Audi Sport today officially took the wraps off its striking new-for-2016 Audi R18 LMP1 challenger.
Almost everything is new for the mighty Ingolstadt manufacturer this season, with a bold new aerodynamic package, a battery-operated hybrid system and a revised engine. The aggressive looking LMP1 racer is set to make a public debut at the official Prologue test at Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend.
Not only does the Audi R18 have several new key attributes in the vehicle dynamics and aerodynamic areas, but it will now race in the 6MJ (Mega-Joule) energy retrieval category. The car will race with ten percent less fuel consumption than in 2015 but achieve power of 1000bhp, ensuring new heights of efficiency over previous models.
Summarising the new model and also praising the FIA WEC rules, Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich said: “The result is a race car that manages energy even more effectively than before. This is an objective we’re pursuing for our road-going automobiles as well,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “This type of motorsport continues to set an example for automotive engineering. For Audi, production relevance has been a core topic of all racing programmes for 35 years.”
R18 is most efficient Audi LMP car made
Continuing the theme of new and exciting technology the 2016 Audi R18 will also see a variety of innovation in the energy recovery aspects of its package
Audi was the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with an energy recuperation system, using a flywheel energy storage system from 2012 to 2015. For this season though Electrokinetic technology is being replaced by an electrochemical storage system. “The flywheel accumulator definitely proved viable for the lower energy classes,” explained Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Electrics, Electronics and Energy Systems at Audi Sport. “But due to the fact that we now have to process even more energy than before, a technology change suggested itself.”
In announcing the stunning R18 to the world today Audi confirmed that ‘in the sum of all technological features, the LMP1 class remains unique around the globe and therefore of utmost relevance for the future of the automobile’.
Sam Smith
