Audi is returning to Le Mans and the company has provided an update about their R18 successor. While the company didn’t go into many specifics, they released a new teaser sketch of the electrified race car. It suggests the model will have vertical headlights and a compact cockpit with a wraparound greenhouse. We can also see a massive diffuser and a central fin which connects to a large rear wing.
That isn’t much to go on, but Audi said
the car is being built in “close cooperation” with Porsche. They noted this
arrangement is similar to the one used for the RS e-tron GT and will result in
a “genuine Audi.” While a lot of work still needs to be done, Audi said “all
the basic concept decisions have been made.” In particular, Audi Sport’s Andreas
Roos said “We have selected a chassis partner and decided on an engine
concept.” With that locked in, the company is now focused on the look of the
car.
We won’t have to wait much longer to see
it as the first prototype is slated to be completed early next year. It will
then embark on an intensive testing program to ensure the vehicle is ready for
its first race at Daytona in January of 2023. Besides the factory effort, Audi
revealed their intentions to put the race car into the hands of “customer teams
right from the start.” The company is currently evaluating how this will work,
but Roos noted the “R8 was not only the most successful prototype of its time
from 2000 to 2006, with 63 victories in 80 races, but it was also very
successful in the hands of our customers and easy for the teams to handle.”
Of course, the LMDh prototype isn’t the
only thing Audi Sport is working on as the company is set to compete in next
year’s Dakar Rally. Roos acknowledged this as he said the two vehicles are
being developed in parallel, but the “Dakar team is under greater time
pressure, because there are only just under eight months left until our first
participation in the Dakar Rally in January 2022.”
