Audi sports prototypes: ultra-lightweight design in perfection Le Mans prototypes show development steps in ultra-lightweight design Lightweight design quality of monocoque more than doubled since 1999 Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: Many of the ultra-lightweight design ideas from motorsport have the potential of positively influencing the development of our production models. Le Mans 24 Hours celebrates its 90th anniversary. Audi has set standards with its ultra-lightweight design in the area of the sports prototypes. In 15 years of development, the motorsport engineers have achieved best marks. Since 1999, ultra-lightweight design has been playing a central role with Audis Le Mans prototypes (LMP). Materials, such as CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), harbor major potential for optimizing weight. In the space of 15 years, weve also achieved major progress in the area of ultra-lightweight design, stresses Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Audis LMP sports cars have continually become lighter, stiffer, safer in crashes and more efficient. There is hardly another motorsport discipline in which the creativity of the engineers is rewarded as highly as it is with the Le Mans prototypes. Whether in terms of engineering design details or materials: many of the ultra-lightweight ideas from motorsport have the potential of positively influencing the development of Audis production models. Reducing the weight of the cars is the key to our successful future in motorsport and in production. Even in its first LMP sports car the 1999 R8R Audi used a carbon fiber monocoque. Audi has significantly been reducing weight to this day: -As the central chassis component, the monocoque supports the front axle, the front and lateral body parts and, since 2012, the hybrid system. The engine is directly connected to the rear. The monocoque thus transmits the torsional and bending forces which are introduced through the wheel suspensions, and absorbs the impact energies that are generated in accidents in frontal or side crashes as well as in roll-overs. -The Audi R8R (1999), the R8 (2000-2005), the R10 TDI (2006-2008) and the R15 TDI (2009-2010) all had open monocoques. For the R18 TDI (2011), Audi used a closed cell for the first time. Its one-piece design is a trend-setter for safety and weight. Up to then, the closed monocoques of competitors, for manufacturing reasons, had been made up of several elements. -Although a closed cockpit requires the use of more material Audi has managed to cut the weight of the monocoque in half between 1999 and today, while surpassing all the safety and crash requirements of the FIA. Furthermore, Audi managed to again increase the torsional strength of the monocoque during this period of time despite the 50-percent reduction in weight. The comparison with a production car reveals interesting facts: with comparable torsional values, the weight of the carbon cell of the R18 only amounts to about a fourth of the weight of a body-in-white made of steel sheet. -The torsional and bending stiffness of the cockpit can only be completely effective if the fully stressed assemblies of the engine and transmission provide the corresponding stiffness. The V6 TDI engine with a 120-degree cylinder bank angle is based on an innovative architecture of the crankcase: Underneath the main bearing, the crankcase is of a ladder frame design. The lateral suction port of the dry sump and the finning connect the bearing blocks with each other. In combination with the upper crankcase deck, this creates a stiff unit. The engine and the monocoque have nearly the same stiffness. This chassis design is complemented by the transmission housing. Since 2012, it has been made of a lightweight and stable full-carbon construction in which the mounting points for the rear axle are integrated. In addition, very light backstays from the monocoque to the transmission housing optimize the stiffness of the rear end. -A chronological comparison illustrates the significance of the progress that has been made in ultra-lightweight design: The weight of a diesel engine, due to its design, exceeds that of a comparable gasoline engine in the two-digit percentage range. At the same time, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, since 2012, has been accommodating a hybrid system including a motor at the front axle. Still, the basic weight of the race car is below the minimum of 915 kilograms. Ballast weight is used to improve the set-up. The 1999 R8R, with a gasoline engine and without a hybrid system, weighed almost exactly 900 kilograms and hardly offered any latitude for ballast. -Numerous smaller solutions have been accompanying the major steps. The carbon fiber gas pedal in the Audi R10 TDI already saved a few hundred grams of weight compared with an aluminum version. The lithium-ion battery that was used for the first time in the 2009 R15 TDI even proved to be seven kilograms lighter than a lead storage battery. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That Audi looks amazing. Won't support them though, Toyota all the way...Mostly because they use a petrol engine and someone needs to break the Audi's record.
hopefully Audi (and Toyota) don't use the race as a crash test this year looking forward to the proper race debut of the new 991 RSR as well. P2 should be killer with a large and very stacked field.
If you look at the design......it appears to have a similar design to that of a recliner that you sit in at home. Audi has given considerable thought to the drivers position and his comfort for an extended period. Audi leaves nothing to chances. Looking forward to them winning again this year.
The raised footbox design is nothing new. It's been around in LMP for about 10 years. And, longer in F1 (although the races are of a shorter duration). If there was anything identified as seriously problematic with the ergonomics, it would have been corrected or abandoned by now. Actually, I just did a test fit in an LMP car and find it comfortable enough (and have spent some time in another recently), even though the seat wasn't fit to me. Not having spent hours and hours in racing conditions in them, though, I'd defer to those who have. But, I agree. A LOT of thought has gone into keeping the driver as fresh as possible. Not as uncomfortable as it appears. CW
Restricted, ~650bhp. Unrestricted? WAY more. The LMP car I did a test fit in is over 1,000bhp, unofficially, without the intake restrictors fitted. And, actually, the engine works better and with much less stress when they're removed, and it's run unrestricted. Amazing pieces of technology. CW
Action starts tomorrow! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
No, I'm not going to be there. I want to one day. And I will. Thanks for the video and the pics. The cars are extrordinary. Best, Stan
Le Mans TV: Test Day - 24 Heures du Mans 2013 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice! Embedded it... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIg3HNgSnA]?? AF CORSE - 24 Hours of Le Mans - YouTube[/ame] Forza Ferrari! I'm an Audi fan (F Nut first and foremost though ) so I'll be rooting for them too. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Live timing, 24-lemans.com - Live timing (in French) English radio, radiolemans.com Ferrari #57 brought out the safety car.
Thank you very much for posting the link of the live timing! I looked for some hours ago and didn't find it ...
Aston Martin's at the top of the charts in both Pro and Am...I prefer them to those pesky Pcars! You're welcome!
All GTE cars were not that fast ... Astons and Porsches seem to be quite strong! Any pictures of the Fisi-Car?
Audi completes Le Mans Preparations Three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars ready for 24-hour race Rainy weather limits test program Marco Bonanomi tests tire generation for 2014 Ingolstadt/Le Mans, June 9, 2013 Audi completed its preparations for the most important endurance race of the year with a test in France that was largely held in rain. Two weeks before the Le Mans 24 Hours, Audi Sport Team Joest set up the long-tail version of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro for the high-speed track on the eight-hour test day. On a mostly wet Sunday at La Sarthe, the team of the eleven-time Le Mans winner concentrated on testing various aerodynamic set-up versions of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. In addition, the engineers experimented with different tire pressures in order to analyze the performance of the rain tires on a single lap and across longer distances. When showers set in, the team decided to end the mornings practice session early. The track conditions were too inconsistent, as Loïc Duval came to find out too in an off-track excursion in the Tertre Rouge corner toward the end of the first half of the day. His car, designated as number 2, remained structurally undamaged in the incident and was ready to resume the test after the lunch break. In the afternoon, there was only slow improvement of the weather situation. It was only possible to use dry tires on the tradition-steeped track in the last 90 minutes. The three R18 e-tron quattro cars finished the test day in the top three positions. Despite the prevailing rainy weather conditions car number 4 also gathered important findings for the future. Audi factory driver Marco Bonanomi in the black R18 e-tron quattro tested the new tire generation by partner Michelin for 2014. We traveled to the test day in order to work through various programs and to learn something in the process, said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich in summing up the day. Unfortunately, due to the unsteady weather, we didnt even come close to being able to try out all the planned options. It only became dry toward the end. Loïc Duval ultimately found a free lap, and he managed to set the fastest time. But only in the race well really see where we stand. Results of the test day 1 Duval/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 3m 22.583s 2 Gené/di Grassi/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 3m 25.358s 3 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 3m 25.647s 4 Buemi/Davidson/Sarrazin (Toyota), 3m 27.581s 5 Bonanomi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 3m 27.894s 6 Lapierre/Nakajima/Wurz (Toyota), 3m 29.593s 7 Heidfeld/Jani/Prost (Lola-Toyota), 3m 31.967s 8 Beche/Belicchi/Cheng (Lola-Toyota), 3m 34.724s 9 Kane/Leventis/Watts (HPD-Honda), 3m 35.631s 10 Brundle/Heinemeier-Hansson/Pla (Morgan-Nissan), 3m 38.801s Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
