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Audi R18 e-tron quattro: Return of the Legend
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More than 30 years after its inception, Audi's legendary quattro will make a comeback to the world of motorsport in the debut season of the World Endurance Championship
In 1981, on the gravel-strewn stages of the World Rally Championship, Audi revolutionised the world of motorsport, a revolution that can be summed up in one word – quattro. In one fell swoop, this permanent mechanical four-wheel drive system changed the course of the WRC and established the Ingolstadt based auto maker as a serious contender in motorsport. After two championships in the WRC, quattro made its way to the circuits, but domination on the tarmac on multiple occasions led the FIA to ban the use of four-wheel drive systems from its touring car and endurance championships in 1998.
Now, more than 30 years after it first taste of competition, quattro is all set to make its comeback to racing in the debut season of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year (of which now the 24 Hours of Le Mans race is a part), albeit with a slight difference. Since a permanent four-wheel drive system is still banned by the FIA for use in sports car and endurance championships, Audi has gone in for a hybrid (yes, you read that right) system which uses a conventional internal combustion motor to power the rear wheels and an electrical system to power the front wheels. Aptly named the R18 e-tron quattro, this latest race car is an evolution of Audi’s Le Mans-winning LMP1-class R18 TDI which features the latest in ultra light weight materials as well as the ‘e-tron’ moniker which the company started using with electric and hybrid concept cars.
Now this isn’t the first car to take on the challenges of endurance racing with a hybrid drive system. Earlier this year, Toyota took the wraps off their 2012 WEC challenger, the TS030, that uses a parallel hybrid system, much in the line of the company’s road-going Prius. It is however the first LMP1 car to use a diesel hybrid system as well as four-wheel drive. The R18 e-tron quattro sticks with Audi’s trustworthy 3.7-litre V6 turbo diesel engine to power the rear wheels, but also features an electric motor which powers the front wheels. However, as mentioned before, the WEC rules still don’t allow cars to run with a permanent four-wheel drive system. So Audi’s boffins have come up with a slightly different way of doing things.
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