8
classic will start at 3 p.m. Interest in the
event is already exceptionally high. For
the first time, Audi and Porsche, the
race’s two most successful brands, will
be pitted against each other. Toyota,
after suffering two defeats against
Audi, is aiming to break the four rings’
string of victory at Le Mans. Plus, for
the first time, new regulations with a
main focus on energy efficiency will be
in effect – for Audi, the inventor of the
TDI, this will provide an opportunity to
again prove its great technical expertise not only on the road but on the
race track.
Be it with the engine, hybrid drive,
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twice the range of LED headlights. With
that, Audi is making an important contribution to safety on the track and in
road traffic.”
Advanced engine technologies for
maximum efficiency
In 2001, an innovative V8 engine powered the Audi R8. TFSI gasoline direct
injection metered the fuel in a way that
reduced the consumption of the V8 turbo power-plant, improved responsiveness and, due to the engine’s ability to
immediately start again, shortened the
stopping times in the pits while making
more power output available. Just
ered race car had been considered
wishful thinking until then – today, it is
regular reality. To date, Audi has won
the race seven times on TDI power,
with learning effects continually being
fed into the design of crankcases, pistons, fuel injectors and other assemblies in production development.
e-tron quattro hybrid drive takes Le
Mans victory
Audi was the first Le Mans participant
to win with a hybrid drive system and
therefore again made motorsport history. 2012 saw the first victory of the
Audi R18 e-tron quattro, a sports prototype with a rear axle being powered by
a TDI internal combustion engine and a
front axle driven by electric power. A
fully electronic control strategy was the
only connection between the two drive
systems. In parallel, Audi also expanded its product range by hybrid models.
lightweight design, or by setting standards in active and passive safety:
Audi’s Le Mans prototypes are front
runners in terms of sporting performance as well as technology. “Le Mans
is a unique test laboratory for our technologies,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, who is responsible for Technical
Development on the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “The comprehensive
range of new technical developments
of our current Le Mans race car includes the headlights with laser light.
They illuminate the track for a distance
of up to 800 meters. In a planned
derivation for production vehicles, they
achieve up to 500 meters, which is
shortly following the first Le Mans success, Audi’s customers were able to order the first production models featuring gasoline direct injection. This fuel
induction principle soon evolved into
the standard in large-volume production series. Today, TFSI engines contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions in millions of cars.
Five years after this debut, Audi
showed another pioneering achievement. In the 2006 season, the Audi R10
TDI powered by a direct-injection
diesel engine w