[footie]

Audi's Le Mans 24 Hours competitors will be scrutinising the new R15 TDI as closely as they can after Audi officially unveiled it. Because the German automaker has been dominating that race for some time now when it releases a new challenger to the Le Mans grid everyone takes notice. After all, how many other manufacturers can boast a win at Le Mans 24 Hour using a diesel-powered car? None.

Several technical adjustments have been made on the R15 TDI which were previously not available in the all-conquering R10 TDI. Such adjustments include a lighter, more compact V10 TDI engine with new diesel particle filters that improve fuel consumption while reducing C02 emissions. The turbo and fuel injection systems have received the engineers' attention which result in a better engine response. Aerodynamics are said to be much improved too from the preceding cars.

Audi says the new R15 TDI pushes out more than 600hp (441kW) and maximum torque peaks at above 1,050Nm.

"The R15 TDI has many detailed technical solutions never seen before on a sports prototype," said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. "To a certain extent we followed entirely new routes."

A new electrical system for the series is being utilised by Audi. It is primarily based on a lithium-ion battery which was chosen for its lightness and better power output than conventional batteries. The Audi-synonymous low-beam LED lights will be seen for the first time in the R15 TDI as well.

The R15 TDI takes on rivals at the 12 Hour race in Sebring on March 21. This should be a good proving ground before it debuts on June 13 at the 24 Hour in France.

[TK-421]

I thought Audi pulled out of the ALMS? If it didn't, I can't wait to see this at Sebring!!

[josephr25]

They will race at only Sebring and Le Mans. No full ALMS or LMS schedule.

[S4to335]

better pic here...

[footie]

Is that a DTM A4 to the right?

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by footie

Is that a DTM A4 to the right?

Yeah; Audi R8 GT3-spec on the left

[footie]

What is the DTM A4 running engine wise?

[danniexi]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

Yeah; Audi R8 GT3-spec on the left

That car is BEAUTIFUL!

[lovelyj]

Very nice pix...

[Robert]

new ground, thanks!

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by footie

What is the DTM A4 running engine wise?

4.0 V8 I believe; that's been the standard spec for a while.

Don't tell this to the high-horse German car fanboys though:

Audi Sport re-entered the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series in 2004 (after having privateer teams run the Abt Sportsline TT-R) with a V8 engined silhouette racing car resembling the A4, known as the A4 DTM.[17]

In the past, Audi had used a V8 engine in the series with the original Audi V8 quattro, but had opted for a highly tuned V8 which Audi had no resources for. So Honda was contacted; at the time they had been using V8s in Indy Racing League (IRL). Audi wanted a similar package in performance and reliability, so Honda and Mugen (M-Tec) got together and decided to let Audi use the Mugen/Honda MF308 V8 engine[18]. The only improvements made to the racing engine by Audi was shaving weight off the crankshaft since the engine had already been designed from the ground up. Audi Sport prepped tested/implemented/approved and raced the engine in 2004, which produced 460 bhp (343 kW; 466 PS) and over 500 N·m (370 ft·lbf) of torque in 4.0 litre trim, and has been a mainstay in Audi's DTM programme.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A4

Just to add, Abt Sportsline is developing the Audi R8 GT3 for the factory as well (European Car Magazine and I think I read this in Racecar Engineering as well).