The journey to the top is not an easy one, especially when more and more challengers pop up along the way with huge potential. After Peugeot’s departure, Toyota and Porsche gave Audi a great fight to the chequered flag, and now they are ready to counter the challenges with an updated race car that has proven itself to be the best from the rest.
Introducing the new 2015 Audi R18 e-Tron Quattro. While the overall looks of the car might not be that much of a difference from the earlier models, Audi had done quite a number of improvements to get more out of this trusted race machine. For starters, this new 2015 version features larger air inlets in the redesigned front wheel arches along with reshaped headlights benefiting from matrix LED and Audi Lasersight Technology. It also gets a new front wing, hood and engine cover while the monocoque has been carried over.
For the 2015 World Endurance Championship, Audi has prepped up two body configurations for various tracks lined up for the season and optimized the chassis in collaboration with Michelin. The engineers managed to double the amount of energy from two to four megajoules per race lap at De La Sarthe and the energy recovered during braking is sent back to the front axle during acceleration.
The electric motor used has been given an upgrade to push out 272-horsepower (200kW) which gives a “significant increase” to last year’s variant and the encapsulated flywheel energy storage system can now store 700 kilojoules which is 17-percent more than before.
Tipping the scales at 870kg, the new R18 now consumes 2.5-percent less diesel per lap than last year in order to meet the regulations set by the FIA. The TDI 4.0-liter V6 engine produces 558-horsepower and like in Formula one, only five engines will be available during the 2015 WEC Season.
