Audi r-18 Etron quattro 2014

 Audi r-18 Etron quattro 2014

The Audi R18 e-tron quattro starts only his second season of competition in 2013 - but it is already a legend: exactly like the Audi R10 TDI, the first hybrid race car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans was voted by Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) jury to be one of the most important of Le Mans racing car of all time.

Milestones techniques at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are nothing unusual for Audi: the brand with the four rings has always used consistently the classic endurance to run the new technologies - TFSI, TDI, VTG, ultra lightweight design and now e-tron quattro are good examples of pioneering spirit of the brand in motorsport.

Through the intelligent combination of a rear axle conventionally fed with a front axle electrically operated the Audi R18 turns to four-tron - the first race car Audi which is not exclusively powered by a combustion engine. The system is located in the front of the machine includes two drive shafts and a generator motor unit (MGU) with planetary gearbox, which recovers its energy from the flywheel electricity storage device mounted next to the driver in the cockpit.

The energy is recovered and stored under braking. In the process, the front wheels to drive the generator motor. This accelerates electrically a flywheel made of carbon fiber, which flows into high vacuum. Once the angle is taken and the driver accelerates again, the system provides the energy for the front axle - but as the state regulations, however, only above a speed of 120 km / h. "As a result, we could theoretically have the advantage with four electric traction is obviously very limited," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. The regulations also limit the maximum amount of energy that can be transmitted to the front wheels between two braking phases.

The hybrid system and the driver four are, however, are not the only characteristic of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Only with the help of ultra lightweight design and consistent logic was possible to achieve the minimum weight allowed by law - and this without compromising the aspects of safety and reliability.

To achieve this Audi Sport explored every possibility in all areas decisive: with the frame in the same way as the engine and the transmission. The R18 has grabbed attention in 2011 with a one-piece carbon fiber monocoque - a first between Le Mans Prototypes. Consequently, the safety cell is particularly light, but extremely stable and safe at the same time. A novelty in the field of transmission followed in 2012: a new gearbox coated composite carbon fiber has been developed for the R18 - another first for endurance racing. In the suspension, new materials and manufacturing processes to reduce the mass are also used.


Thanks to its innovative architecture, the engine very compact V6 TDI 3.7 liter turbocharged mono plays a significant role in offsetting the additional weight of the hybrid system. Despite frequent new restrictions imposed by the regulations, Audi Sport draws more than 360 kW (490 hp) and maximum torque of 850 Nm from the center thanks to the efficiency of the overall concept.