The R15 TDI was a followup to the R10, tested in December 2008 so as to be ready for the 2009 racing season. R15 was powered by a compact Turbocharged Direct Injection engine pushed to the middle of the car for better handling. The 330 cu.in. V10 turbodiesel engine produced 590 horsepower and 774 lb.ft. of torque.
In March 2009, shortly before the Sebring outing, Audi released dozens of photos of the new car. (Check out the Jalopnik link at the end of this post.) They knew they had something special and the outcome at Sebring confirmed it.
When it came to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, expectations ran high, but Audi's Le Mans Prototype (LMP) took it on the chin when Peugeot captured first and second place that year.
The loss to Peugeot didn't end their enthusiasm for the R15, though. With some adjustments the R15-Plus returned to garner the 1-2-3 spots at Le Mans in a comeback that saw the first place car win with a five lap lead.
The Audi R15 was followed by an R15+ and in 2o11 the R15++ before yielding to the R18 in 2012. Within a couple years Volkswagen got caught in the Dieselgate scandal, which changed everything. The Audi R15 TDI was still a glorious car.
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Related Links
Audi R15 Uncovered (Racecar Engineering)
The Audi R15 TDI: Now In Glorious Detail! (Jalopnik 2009)
Audi R15 TDI (Wikipedia)
Has Dieselgate Killed Audi's Highly Successful Le Mans Program? (CarBuzz, 2016)
A long time ago, Delettrez brothers entered 1949 Le Mans race with their own car using a 4.4L 6-cylinder diesel engine from an American Army GMC truck.
ReplyDeleteThey had one more attempt in 1950, joined by another diesel car on the grid, produced by MAP (Manufactures d’Armes de Paris). For decades after that, there were no diesel cars at Le Mans, until 2004, when Taurus Sports Racing fielded Lola B2K/10 with Caterpillar re-badged V10 TDI engine.