BUSINESS CHINA
China flexes its muscles I
With the emphasis firmly on efficiency, China’s new closed Prototype is down on power, but a long way ahead on innovation
n 1999, Audi debuted its first closed Prototype, the R8C, at the Le Mans 24 hours. Twelve years later, new regulations have forced the manufacturer to revist the concept with its latest endurance car, the R18 TDI.
The R8C was a sleek machine, powered by a 3.6-litre V8, and looked stunning in its silver livery. It was built by British company racing technology norfolk (rtn), and run by the Audi UK importer under the guidance of Richard Lloyd, alongside the Team Joest-run R8R, the open-cockpit version of the same car. Unfortunately, the R8C was an afterthought – a
validation tool if you will – hastily developed after the decision had been taken to stick with the open design.
Out of the R8R, the R8 was born, a car that raced to five
Le Mans 24 hour victories between 2000 and 2005 and multiple championship titles. So successful was the car in its open form that Audi continued without a roof through its diesel programme with the R10 and the R15.
These front end plates also shifted the balance forwards, but knocked more counts of downforce off the rear than they added to the front. Drag did reduce a little though
A complicated car The R15 was a complicated car, with a narrow operating window, and a controversial nose that Peugeot contested contained a wing element. Audi had to redesign the car for 2010, and ran it again at the Sebring 12 hours in March 2011 as the new car was not yet ready. New regulations introduced this year have meant that Audi has been forced back down the closed coupe route
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