Formula 1 may be the pinnacle of motorsports, but endurance racing is where all the really cool stuff happens. Running flat-out at a race like the Le Mans 24 Hours demands the very highest levels of skill and engineering. It also places a premium on efficiency, because any time spent in the pits refueling is time not spent on the track. To that end, hybrids have fared exceptionally well, and Audi is consistently at the front of the pack.
Audi's turbo-diesel hybrids have utterly dominated the 24 Hour of Le Mans, winning nine of the last 10 races. The Germans hope to add another win to the record with the R18 e-tron Quattro, the car it will campaign at Le Sarthe this year. Their goal was to make the racer more powerful, more efficient, and more reliable than anything Audi's built before.
The latest car will generate twice as much electrical power per lap than last year, with up to four megajoules available. It uses a flywheel energy storage system to store energy otherwise lost as heat during braking. The driver can deploy that energy upon acceleration, adding 272 horsepower. Sending the electric power to the front wheels augments the power of the 4.0-liter V6 turbocharged diesel engine, and fuel economy as well. This is especially important, because WEC rules will require Audi to use 2.5 percent less diesel fuel per lap than last year because of the increased hybrid output.
Further improvements come from revised aerodynamics. While the main structure, called a monocoque, remains largely the same, Audi has increased aerodynamic efficiency to reduce drag and maximize cooling. Redesigned air inlets necessitated a new look for Audi's amazing headlights, which use lasers to maximize visibility during night racing.
Audi's been dominant in recent years, but there's still serious competition, including Toyota, Porsche and Nissan, which is bringing an utterly bonkers car to LeMans, further proving that F1 may have the glamor, but endurance racing has the innovation.
