Audi’s motorsport division has revealed the R18 e-tron quattro which will compete in next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours on June 14 and 15. Before that, the car will get its racing debut at the six-hour race of Silverstone programmed for April 20. Because of the new LMP1 regulations, Audi says they had no other way but to change “every single component” in order to make the car eligible for next year’s season. The vehicle has received an upgraded hybrid setup which includes an electric turbocharger that has been mounted in the internal combustion engine.
The company’s engineers worked on optimizing the flywheel energy storage system and increased the R18’s height by 20mm to 1050mm. In addition, width has decreased by 100mm while behind the transmission there’s now a structure made from carbon fiber reinforced plastic which will absorb energy in the unfortunate event of a collision.
Source: Audi
