When Audi announced the its new R15 TDI race car we didn’t get much detail. All Audi gave up was that it had "numerous technically innovative detail solutions" and released a extreme close-up pic. From this we thought we may have to wait until the official unveiling on March 21st to know more about Audi’s next Le Mans racer, but now we got this pic of the car performing a few test laps.
The first race test of the car will come at the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida at the end of March. The big prize will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in June, where Audi will see if it can continue to dominate the LMP1 class.
Audi is ready to replace the three-peat Le Mans winning R10 TDI with an new oil burner. The R15 TDI diesel racer will make its debut on March 21st at the 12-hour race at Sebring, Florida.
Sebring is an important race by itself, but it is also the test run for the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in June. Audi is the dominant force at Le Mans. It’s taken the podium there every year since 2000 (the Bentley Speed 8 used a lot of Audi technology including the engine,) so the R15 TDI is an important car to the German manufacturer.
All Audi will say about the R15 is that it has numerous technically innovative detail solutions and differs significantly from its predecessor. "So far the R15 TDI has performed as we expected," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "Now it must also prove itself in race conditions. Sebring is a particularly hard race and is therefore perfectly suited to reveal even the smallest of weaknesses."
Aston Martin won the GT1 class in the 2007 and 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans races with the DBR9, and now Aston has set its sights higher this year. It’s abandoning the GT1 class to focus its efforts on the faster LMP1 class and the overall win.
The car is based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola, and power will come from the same production-based Aston Martin V12 engine that was used in the DBR9 that won in 2008. Although all car companies would like to win at Le Mans, this would be especially sweet for Aston Martin. Fifty years ago, Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori brought Aston an overall win on the French circuit in a DBR1.
Over the last week we’ve seen Ferrari, McLaren and Renault sounding off about their new F1 cars, and now BMW is chiming in with its 2009 racer.
BMW Sauber F1 Team revealed today the F1.09 Formula 1 car today in Valencia, Spain. For those who think all F1 cars look alike, the 2009 car has implicated a few changes including a higher nose, three-part front wing and a slimmer rear wing. The racer also has add-ons, such as air deflectors and cooling air exits. Other eye-catching features include the sidepods, which are now higher at the front.
Like the rest of the 2009 F1 cars, the F1.09 has integrated the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) for added power. Let’s just hope it was perfected from when it was tested this summer.
Full specs on the car in the press release after the jump.
Better than most of your Christmas presents, tis’ the season for new F1 cars. Last week the Ferrari F60 and McLaren MP4-24 were unveiled, and now Renault has brought out its newest track car.
Like the rest of the field, the Renault F1 team will be adding the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) to its new R29 F1 car. According to Renault, R29 will also will benefit from additional horsepower which was lost when the team took the engine freeze rules more seriously than the opposition. This meant that the cars had to run with less downforce at most of the races and, according to Renault, made the cars less competitive.
Not to be outdone by the Ferrari F60, McLaren revealed its new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 Formula 1 car. The MP4-24 will start its publicly testing at the Autodromo do Algarve circuit in Portugal today.
2009 is the first year the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) gets implemented in F1 racing. The MP4-24’s KERS device has been developed in collaboration with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. The KERS device’s output puts out 60kW/400kJ, which equals an additional 80bhp for 6.66s per lap. This is the kind of gas/electric hybrid we can get behind.
Ferrari unveiled the F60 today. While a new F1 car doesn’t always make headlines with us, this one seems to have dropped in a few nifty new features, and it celebrates an anniversary. It’s the fifty fifth single-seater built by Ferrari specifically to compete in the Formula 1 World Championship. Starting 1950 Ferrari has competed in all the 60 editions of the Formula 1 World Championship (60 years of Ferrari; F60, get it).
Ferrari has redesigned the front and rear spoilers as well as the airflow over the car for better performance on the track. 2009 will be the debut of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that can sometimes provide a real shock. We won’t bore you with all the science of the improvements (or try to interpret them), but there is more information for those who are interested in the press release after the jump.
Earlier this month, the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer was the winner of the Baja Portalegre 500, and now it’s testing for the Paris to Dakar Rally (officially now know as just "The Dakar".) Watch as the team gets prepared for their January endurance run.
Even the Germans know the best was to go 100+ mph over rough desert terrain is with a big honkin’ truck. Volkswagen unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show the Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck that will run the 41st Baja 1000 desert race in the SCORE Trophy Truck class. The racer is powered by a 5.5 liter V-12 clean diesel engine that produces 550 hp and 625 lbs.-ft. of torque.
The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck features a wheelbase of 125 inches, overall length of 213 inches, width of 92 inches, an overall height of 78 inches and weighs 5650 pounds. This is a specialty race car, with an entirely unique suspension set-up. VW did not just pluck a Touareg off the assembly line and put it to use at Baja. The dimensions for the Trophy Truck are 16 inches wider, 10 inches taller, and 26 inches longer (13 inches more in the wheelbase) than the standard Touareg 2 SUV.
Back in August, we got a first look at Mitsubishi’s off-road racing version of the Lancer. Now Mitsubishi will be putting it to the test with a debut at Portugal’s Baja Portalegre beginning on October 30th and running through November 2nd.
Like the VW Touareg 2 off road racer we saw earlier this week, the Mitsu will use diesel power. The Racing Lancer is powered by a 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine that delivers a maximum power of more than 280hp. The car features a fully-integrated multi-tubular steel frame, lowered positioning of the fuel tank for a lower overall center of gravity, and Brembo brakes with 16-inch ventilated discs and six-piston calipers all around.
As much as you may want to bring this car to hunting camp this winter, don’t bother even trying to pick one up at your neighborhood Mitsubishi dealer.
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