At the recently opened Competence Center Motorsport in Neuberg, Audi Sport invited along international media for a tour of the new facility, as well as to welcome in the new racing season with their customary “warm up” this week at the new facility.
One of the big talking points was the official unveil of the heavily-revised R18 e-tron quattro, which circled the track in its new livery ahead of next week’s Prologue official test at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The full specification of the new car, which will look to secure Ingolstadt’s sixth win in a row at Circuit de la Sarthe and regain the WEC titles that the brand lost to Toyota last year, has not yet been officially released by Audi Sport.
However, as per previous incarnations, this year’s challenger will now move up a class in the LMP1 regulations to the 4MJ sub-class, using an updated version of the hybrid flywheel system that powers the front wheels.
Audi Sport had considered revising their hybrid system for 2015 with the inclusion of a secondary system, but when Head of LMP Chris Reinke spoke with Motorsport-Total.com, it was a very different decision that was made: “An upgrade of this system was to be installed much more efficient than a second system.”
This now sees an increase of around 40 horsepower on the hybrid aspect of the car, which will continue to power the front wheels. It will also continues to work alongside the refreshed 4.0 litre V6 TDi power plant that is the brainchild of legendary engine guru Ulrich Baretsky.
Judging by initial imagery from the event itself, the R18 e-tron quattro has seen a lot of development on the aerodynamics from the front to rear, which
which will also aid in top speeds at particular tracks, which will be a big part of the strategy at tracks like Le Mans. The profile of the lights, as well as further efficiency tweaks has seen a very aggressive stance that some of the LMP1 challengers will see in their mirrors.
Some other further improvements includes Audi’s version of the “FRICS” suspension that was famously banned from Formula 1 last year during Mercedes AMG Petronas’ dominance towards two championship titles. However, the Ingolstadt manufacturer will be able to use the system where it will be crucial to maintain a balanced ride height to carry momentum through certain corners.
Further information is set to follow, as well as what Porsche, Toyota and Nissan have decided in what energy recovery sub-class that they will run in, which could see some opt to run at the highest allowance of 8MJ, depending on their particular technical solutions.
Images: Audi Sport