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Written by Ollie Kew
They say a beautiful racing car is a fast racing car. Whoever they" are probably haven"t clapped eyes on the new-for-2016 Audi R18 LMP1 . It"s certainly not the prettiest, but given the power that lurks beneath its air-bullying physique, there"s little fear it"s going to be tardy either.Compared with last year"s World Endurance Championship contender - which ended Audi"s seemingly unstoppable Le Mans record when it was beaten by Porsche - the 2016 R18 has a much narrower nose profile and wider front aero elements spanning the gaps to the front wheelhouses.The rear wing also looks to have gone down a size or two, presumably to cut drag, while complex Venturi tunnels (highlighted in red) suggest Audi has found alternative means of taming the invisible witchcraft of aerodynamics.While the bodywork"s been in the wind tunnel then attacked with a hacksaw Audi"s powertrain boffins have been fettling the R18"s oily and electronic bits. And when we say fettling", we mean throwing a large amount of it away and starting again". Though the bi-turbo V6 turbodiesel is merely revised", the hybrid booster system has had a clean-sheet redesign, now featuring battery-based energy storage in place of the old flywheel set-up. More power and better effiency are claims that chime nicely with Audi"s tpyical road car releases.Unlike those releases, though, the entire briefing on the new R18 is just seven lines long. Normally, Audi can natter on about a new headlight design or rear bumper crease for at least three chapters, but clearly its keeping the R18"s specifics close to its chest.So, the likes of Porsche and Toyota will have to content themselves, like us, with poring over these images of one of the angriest-looking racing cars of recent times. Bring on Le Mans, we say. Can something so wonderfully ugly really be a winner?
Date written: 22 Mar 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 2652
They say a beautiful racing car is a fast racing car. Whoever they" are probably haven"t clapped eyes on the new-for-2016 Audi R18 LMP1 . It"s certainly not the prettiest, but given the power that lurks beneath its air-bullying physique, there"s little fear it"s going to be tardy either.Compared with last year"s World Endurance Championship contender - which ended Audi"s seemingly unstoppable Le Mans record when it was beaten by Porsche - the 2016 R18 has a much narrower nose profile and wider front aero elements spanning the gaps to the front wheelhouses.The rear wing also looks to have gone down a size or two, presumably to cut drag, while complex Venturi tunnels (highlighted in red) suggest Audi has found alternative means of taming the invisible witchcraft of aerodynamics.While the bodywork"s been in the wind tunnel then attacked with a hacksaw Audi"s powertrain boffins have been fettling the R18"s oily and electronic bits. And when we say fettling", we mean throwing a large amount of it away and starting again". Though the bi-turbo V6 turbodiesel is merely revised", the hybrid booster system has had a clean-sheet redesign, now featuring battery-based energy storage in place of the old flywheel set-up. More power and better effiency are claims that chime nicely with Audi"s tpyical road car releases.Unlike those releases, though, the entire briefing on the new R18 is just seven lines long. Normally, Audi can natter on about a new headlight design or rear bumper crease for at least three chapters, but clearly its keeping the R18"s specifics close to its chest.So, the likes of Porsche and Toyota will have to content themselves, like us, with poring over these images of one of the angriest-looking racing cars of recent times. Bring on Le Mans, we say. Can something so wonderfully ugly really be a winner?
Date written: 22 Mar 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 2652
