Audi looks strong for another victory Le Mans win

Audi has been competing at Le Mans since 1999and since then there has been no looking back. Never before has an LMP1 race car sporting the four rings been as light, fuel-saving and efficient as the current Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Audi has been setting efficiency standards with its ultra technology. Since 2001, TFSI gasoline direct injection helped to considerably reduce fuel consumption at Le Mans, and subsequently in Audi’s production automobiles as well. Since 2006, Audi caused a sensation with the TDI engine and five victories at Le Mans.

Since 2012, the diesel hybrid drive of the R18 e-tron quattro has been unbeaten at La Sarthe. The next major step results from the efficiency regulations in 2014. Fundamentally new rules determine that Audi and its rivals in the battle for overall victory have to economise on fuel – up to 30 percent less is available this year, depending on the concept and rating. And this requires a highly efficient race car.  As required by the regulations, its fuel consumption per 100 kilometres has to be up to 30 percent lower than that of the competitors. Despite these tough requirements, Audi is endeavouring to battle for its 13th victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 14 and 15.

In concrete terms, 138.7MJ of fuel energy are available to the new R18 e-tron quattro per lap at Le Mans. This also amounts to 6.16 litres less per 100 kilometres than the gasoline engines of the challengers, Toyota and Porsche, are allowed to consume.
 
“Audi has arguably never before faced such a difficult task at Le Mans as this year,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Technical Development. “The current rating means that the efficiency advantages based on the principle of the TDI engine no longer suffice to also achieve an advantage across the racing distance. Still, we’re taking on this challenge in order to demonstrate our technological expertise. More than ever before, the perfect showing by a cohesive team will be crucial at Le Mans.”

If the best teams, as last was the case in the 2012 season that saw only brief safety car periods, covered 378 laps, then Audi’s high-performance TDI engine would have 317.52 litres less fuel available in the course of 24 hours than the gasoline units. This results in an easily understandable comparative situation that every customer is familiar with in normal road traffic: how efficient is a diesel and how efficient a gasoline engine?