Audi’s R18 e-tron quattro in Detail

[xcel]

This is racing progress in its finest form.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - June 9, 2012

Audi sent me a clip of the e-tron Quattro with some short interviews including one with one of the premiere drivers in the Le Mans Racing series, Audi’s Allan McNish. I think you will find his comments both forthright and prescient

In addition, they sent me the base spec sheet of both the R18 e-tron Quattro and its sister ship, the R18 TDI Ultra.

Audi will compete with two different models at the Le Mans 24 Hours next week – the R18 e-tron quattro and the R18 ultra.

When the technical and logistical teams prepare for the year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, a complex prep phase was followed by the most intensive week of the year. Audi Sport and Audi Sport Team Joest are ready for the > 3,000 mile race. The team(s) try to predict all the things that could possibly go wrong, practice the exchange of vulnerable parts time and again, check the fit of spare parts on the subsequent race car, establish emergency plans for repairs and preassemble entire component assemblies such as the suspension corners on the chassis.

For the 2012 Le Mans racing season, Audi is competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with two models – the R18 ultra and the R18 e-tron quattro. This first diesel hybrid race car at Le Mans fundamentally differs from the conventionally powered model in some respects. The e-tron quattro, for example, has an electrically driven front axle in addition to the conventional rear-wheel drive, a motor generator unit (MGU) on the front axle, a rotating mass storage device, an additional cooling system and new detailed solutions.

Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich:

"The R18 ultra is the basis that has made it possible to make the R18 e-tron quattro reality in the first place. We would have had no chance if we hadn’t achieved the weight saving between our 2011 Le Mans winner, the R18 TDI, and the current R18 ultra because we had to additionally package the entire hybrid system in the vehicle. And in spite of this, we continued to pursue the aim of staying below the minimum weight of 1,980 pounds in order to have some latitude to balance the car with ballast."

The Audi R18 ultra uses exactly the same monocoque as its sister model featuring, among other things, two openings for the front drive shafts which of course are only needed for the quattro all-wheel drive.

Allan McNish:

“I was on the pole and won the first race with diesel at Sebring. … People are looking for innovation; they are looking for the next development.”

“It is very progressive… Without a doubt in my mind, it is the next generation and it is quite exciting to be a part of it.”

“They would not have decided to bring e-tron Quattro to one of the worlds hardest races the Le Mans 24 Hours if they did not believe it was more efficient and better than what they already had and what they already had has just about won everything in sight.”

Tom Kristensen, another of Audi’s premier drivers:

“What it means to me? At the moment it means the future”.

Technical Specifications for the Audi R18 e-tron quattro and ultra

Version: February 2012

Model: Audi R18 e-tron quattro / Ultra

Vehicle type: Le Mans Prototype (LMP1)
Monocoque: Carbon-fiber composite with aluminum honeycomb, tested according to the strict FIA crash and safety standards.

Battery: Li-Ion

Engine

Turbocharged 120° V6, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, 1 Garrett turbocharger, mandatory intake air restrictor of 1
x 45.8 mm diameter and turbo boost pressure limited to 2.8 bar absolute, diesel direct injection TDI Fully stressed aluminum cylinder block, diesel particle filter

Engine management: Bosch MS24

Engine lubrication: Dry sump, Castrol
Displacement: 3,700 cc
Power: > 375 kW / 510 hp
Torque: > 627 lb-ft.

Hybrid system*

Type of accumulator: Electric flywheel accumulator, max 500 KJ, WHP

Motor Generator Unit (MGU): MGU on the front axle, water cooled with integrated power electronics, 2 x 75 kW

Drive/Transmission

Type of drive Rear wheel drive, traction control (ASR), four-wheel drive e-tron quattro from 74 mph*

Clutch: Carbon clutch
Gearbox: Sequential, electrically activated 6-speed racing gearbox
Differential: Limited-slip rear differential
Gearbox housing: Carbon-fiber composite with titanium inserts
Driveshafts: Constant velocity sliding tripod universal joints

Suspension/Steering/Brakes

Steering: Electrical assisted rack and pinion steering

Suspension: Front and rear double wishbone independent suspension, front pushrod system and rear pull rod system with adjustable dampers.

Brakes: Hydraulic dual circuit brake system, monobloc light alloy brake calipers, ventilated carbon disc brakes front and rear, infinitely manually adjustable front and rear brake balance.

Wheels: O.Z. magnesium forged wheels

Tires Michelin Radial, Front: 360/710-18, Rear: 370/710-18

Weight/Dimensions

Length: 15.25 ft.
Width: 6.56 ft.
Height: 3.38 ft.
Minimum weight: 1,980 pounds
Fuel tank capacity: 15.3 gal US*/15.85 gal US

*Different specification for R18 e-tron quattro

I am sure you all know what I am thinking... < 2,000 pounds, a 6-speed automated manual gearbox, a 3.7L V6 TDI that would need to be detuned and shrouded in a very small frontal area shell should be worth about 40.x mpg out on the interstate ...

[thunderstruck]

Would be awesome for the street, and eventually will filter down in one form or another. Don't forget they had to nix the R8 street car of a few years ago because they didn't have a transmission that could handle its 740 lbs ft of torque.

[BB123457]

Didn't Audi just killed its A2 and A1 BEV programs?

[Carcus]

How about the SS numbers ......at 190 mph?

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by BB123457

Didn't Audi just killed its A2 and A1 BEV programs?

Maybe, maybe not?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...mark-says-exec

[herm]

Originally Posted by BB123457

Didn't Audi just killed its A2 and A1 BEV programs?

That is the rumor

[CRT1]

Why the huge dorsal fin on these cars? Advertising space? I guess it would have a large righting moment should you get too sideways at speed but it seems like it would also be a liability in crosswinds.

[BB123457]

Originally Posted by herm

That is the rumor

I think not. I think it's official. Didn't Audi have a major top R&D mgt shake-up recently? The guy that promotes BEV projects is now gone. I think it's related.

CAR can reveal that Audi has cancelled its electric A2 city car project, citing concerns over the model's projected €40,000 price tag.

But the A2 is not the only Audi to be put on ice in Audi's electric car review. The A1 e-tron also looks to have been axed, as Audi slims down its future EV plans. [...]

However, company suits have become uneasy that such a small, compromised package (the A2 concept was less than four metres in length) could realistically sell in volume, given that the price was projected to pass €40,000.

Insiders have confirmed to CAR the project has now essentially been put on the back burner while Ingolstadt concentrates on other projects.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/Industry-News/Audi-pulls-plug-on-40k-A2-electric-car2/

[BB123457]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Maybe, maybe not?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...mark-says-exec

The report from GCR doesn't give me any confidence, actually it made me re-evaluate my perception of Audi. Here is what it said:

While Audi has stated in the past that its A2 was positioned as a direct rival for BMW’s i3, a similar advanced electric car on track for a sales debut next year, the director of its e-mobility and sustainability strategy in the U.S., Jeff Curry, has told The New York Times that neither the A1 nor A2 electric cars were intended for production and that they were simply developed for testing purposes.

“It’s hard to unplug something that was never part of the production program,” he said.

Speaking of the A2 specifically, Curry went on to explain, “It’s not a developmental prototype with a test program, but a one-off concept car to be shown at auto shows, gather reactions and highlight what could be done with a small, urban electric vehicle.”

It basically said we or the media misunderstood the position of Audi, the A2 & A1 EV are just Shams!