Audi rules Le Mans 24 Hour race again, this time with diesel
 

Audi wins Le Mans with a diesel!

One observer said it was quiet -- much quieter than the gassers -- and didn't appear to be smokey.

More.... http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en1/experience/motorsport.html

Caught that over the weekend... sweet victory for me, a VW TDI owner. Finally (again), PERFORMANCE diesel!

Didn't they run diesels last year as well? I thought they ran really strong then, too. Apparently the only real downside is that they take about 2 second longer to refuel at the pit stop.

I had an Audi for a very short period of time and loved it. How sweet would an Audi 4wd diesel wagon be? DDDRRRROOOOOOOOLLLL:D

No, this was the first year. Supposedly one of the French manufacturers (Renault or Peugot, I forget which) has a diesel in the works, though.

The dominance in years past made the switch to diesel a curios one. Lots of folks were really holding their breath in the car's debut at Sebring.

I can see it now -- biodiesel kicking gasser a$$!!

I understand that Audi is putting their chips on diesel ahead of hybrid. Could be trying to hold that banner up high.

Sounds like a smart move. When you look at the thermodynamics of diesel, there is still a lot of room for improvement in fuel economy with less complications.

I can't wait to see what all they will come up with. Alternative diesel fuels might get a kick-start development-wise from some of these successes. I just love the credibility that this brings to diesel automobiles. The US hasn't seen a diesel race car in a LONG time. Of course, which circuit would they run in here? NASCAR is far too restrictive anymore... none of those are "stock cars" by any stretch these days.

I'm sure NASCAR would let Audi run a diesel car in their race; as long as it has a V8, carburetor and run on gasoline.

Yeah baby, got Le Mans, American Le Mans (the TT itself thankye;) ) And i believe they took the DTM last year? or the year before something, Audi done came up like ketchup yo. Kinda nice to have two of the best racing houses ever, MB of old, and the modern Audi, in my stable. Time to bus' out wit da WRC dawg! Seriously though, a TT rally car would be so cool, shut the STi and EVO VIIVIVIVIIVI up already.

That's my thought. Hybrid tech is good stuff but I hear you need to pony up about $3K for new batteries at 100K miles. And then there's the extra expense up front.

Well, let the gassers develop the technology, then when it becomes cost-competitve and effective, just throw on a diesel engine and flush out the gasser. Best of both worlds.

Low RPM, huge power.

From the website, above:

More than 1100 Newton metres
The heart of the Audi R10 TDI is a completely new V12 TDI engine with a cubic capacity of 5.5 litres – the maximum permitted at Le Mans. Audi ventures into previously unexplored diesel-engine terrain with power exceeding 650 hp and torque of more than 1100 Newton metres from the V12 power plant.

“This engine is the specifically most powerful diesel there is in the world and, up until now, the biggest challenge that Audi Sport has ever faced in its long history,” explains Ulrich Baretzky, Head of Engine Technology at Audi Sport. “There has never been anything remotely comparable. We started development with a clean sheet of paper.”

The V12 TDI used in the R10 TDI is the first Audi diesel engine with an aluminium crank case. The cylinder-bank angle is 90 degrees. The V12 TDI has, like Audi production car engines, four valves per cylinder and twin overhead camshafts. The fuel induction is made by a modern “Common Rail System”. The injection pressure easily exceeds the 1600 bar achieved in production cars. The ignition pressures also reach values never previously seen in any Audi engine.

The engine’s power and the high torque are available to the driver practically from idling speed – a speciality of diesel technology, to which the Audi drivers must now become accustomed. The usable power band lies between 3000 and 5000 revs per minute.

Da Bot man is talkin lak a diesel owner.......:D

I would love to take a track spin in that car.