The Le Mans General Discussion Thread

[freshseth83]

It would overheat the brakes quicker which has been Toyota's problems all along...

Wrong. The REAR brakes overheated once since 2012 and that was because of the hybrid system failing due to an improper installation at Spa this year. There were no problems with them ever before or since. The brakes won't overheat because their energy is captured and stored. Not to mention next year there is no limit on how you use your hybrid power in terms of drive, that means the (even hotter) front brakes which dissipate more speed and produce more energy than the rear can be used to capture the energy to store in the supercapacitor. Which in turn can be sent to the MGU (NOT THE ENGINE) and drive both front and rear wheels with hybrid power at any speed.

 

[freshseth83]

A picture of hpd's turbocharged hybrid V6 lmp1 engine for 2014!

EDIT: the hybrid option is on hold until 2015

 

[cnd01]

Wrong. The REAR brakes overheated once since 2012 and that was because of the hybrid system failing due to an improper installation at Spa this year. There were no problems with them ever before or since. The brakes won't overheat because their energy is captured and stored. Not to mention next year there is no limit on how you use your hybrid power in terms of drive, that means the (even hotter) front brakes which dissipate more speed and produce more energy than the rear can be used to capture the energy to store in the supercapacitor. Which in turn can be sent to the MGU (NOT THE ENGINE) and drive both front and rear wheels with hybrid power at any speed.

Makes sense. I guess Toyota has their hands full with making essentially 3 new cars in 3 years.

 

[freshseth83]

The 2013 car is an evolution of 2012s with a monocoque redesign and updates to bodywork and hybrid powertrain. 2014s car will be brand new and an entirely different model, my guess is it'll be titled the TS040.

 

[cnd01]

The 2013 car is an evolution of 2012s with a monocoque redesign and updates to bodywork and hybrid powertrain. 2014s car will be brand new and an entirely different model, my guess is it'll be titled the TS040.

That was my next question. I guess it'll be the tso40 and the Audi R20??

 

[Furinkazen]

That was my next question. I guess it'll be the tso40 and the Audi R20??

No, I think R20 is the DTM codename.

 

[Shoe67]

No, I think R20 is the DTM codename.

I never figured out how the number system works with them.

R8
R10
R15
R18

I see absolutely no pattern. If anyone knows how it works I'd be happy to know 👍

 

[LancerEvo7]

The GT3 Audi R8s are known internally as R16s.

EDIT: R11 through R14 and R17 are DTM cars. I can't find any info on an R19. R20 is the rumored R18 based streetcar. Their naming makes more sense. 👍

 

[cnd01]

Why not just Audi?

 

[Bram Turismo]

Audi's new car at Le Mans next year will officially be named as:

Audi R-Iwineverythinghatersgonnahate E-Tron Yolo.

 

[Shoe67]

Audi's new car at Le Mans next year will officially be named as:

Audi R-Iwineverythinghatersgonnahate E-Tron Yolo.

it would be great to see that across that sharkfin.

 

[cnd01]

it would be great to see that across that sharkfin.

I'm all for putting a movie screen on those big honkin fins. That way, Audi can have a feature presentation showing of "Truth in 24" during the race. Popcorn sales would skyrocket.

 

[Shoe67]

I'm all for putting a movie screen on those big honkin fins. That way, Audi can have a feature presentation showing of "Truth in 24" during the race. Popcorn sales would skyrocket.

Or they could use those TVs to show the entire race from the previous year.

 

[Furinkazen]

R22 is my bet.

 

[cnd01]

Or they could use those TVs to show the entire race from the previous year.

Or instant replays if the car goes off or makes a pass. Call it the Shark Entertainment System (SES) That technology can be used to help further develop blu-ray and dvd players in Audi's family cars

 

[RACECAR]

If they keep up with the current naming nomenclature, that means we'll eventually have an R34. Prepare yourselves, lots of Skylines and dirty search results coming

 

[Furinkazen]

Reminds me, what re your bets on Porsche's car? I think 971, 922, or 915?

 

[LancerEvo7]

I think 969 has a nice ring to it. I can see why they'd avoid that particular number though.

 

[-Fred-]

The R# moniker Audi uses is simply the internal project name from Quattro gmbh for race cars. R1 would be the original Quattro, R5 is the IMSA 90 GTO, R7 the DTM TT, and so on and so forth. The roadgoing R8 is actually the R16 project. the current DTM S5 would be R20, so the next LMP should be R21, I believe.

There was a list of all the projects and their code names on wikipedia, but I can't find it anymore.

 

[LancerEvo7]

Here it is. R19 is the next one.

 

[-Fred-]

Gracias.

Weird how the A5 came out after the R18 yet it's nominally inferior.

 

[Hun200kmh]

There won't be a R22 until a R21 exists. So far, it seems R18 is the last of the "R" cars. Oh and only the LMPs are known by their real "R" number so the R8 is the Le Mans prototype (although there's one exception, the R8C is in fact the R9), while the current road R8 car is, in its race version, the R16.

The A4 DTM car gets several numbers in the list, not sure why, did they make new cars for every season? Comparatively several other cars were significantly changed during their career but kept their number (R8 being a good example of this)


Confused? well, I've got too much time on my hands (and this thread sure needs a bit of harmless, trivial talk ) so here goes, with pictures to make it easier on the eyes:


R1 - Audi quattro (1980 Group 4 Rally car , the original, big one, and its 2 evolutions )

R2 - Audi Sport quattro (1984 Group B Rally car, smaller, also 2 evolutions (S1 and Pikes Peak)

R3 - Audi 200 quattro (1987 Group A Rally car)

R4 - Audi 200 quattro (1988 Trans Am car)

R5 - Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO (1989 IMSA GTO car).

R6 - Audi V8 DTM (DTM car, 1990)

R7 - Audi 80 quattro (FIA Supertouring car, 1993, and also the A4 evolutions in 1995 and 1996)

R8 - Audi R8 open top (R8R from 1999, just R8 in 2000 and after. LMP)

R9 - Audi R8 closed top (R8C, 1999, LMP)

R10 - Audi R10 TDI (2006, LMP)

R11 - Audi A4 DTM (2004 Season)

R12 - Audi A4 DTM (2005 and 2006 Seasons)

R13 - Audi A4 DTM (2007 Season)

R14 - Audi A4 DTM (2008 Season)

R15 - Audi R15 TDI (2009, LMP, this number also refers to the 2010 and 2011 evolutions)

R16 - Audi R8 LMS, 2009, LMS Ultra, 2012, and LMS Grand Am, 2012 (GT3 and Grand Am GT race cars)

R17 - Audi A5 DTM (DTM, 2012)

R18 - Audi R18 Ultra and e-tron quattro (LMP, 2012 and 2013)

And to end .... we come full circle

 

[gogatrs]

Is that double rear wings on the R2?
I like that last picture too. Thanks for the harmless, trivial talk. 👍

 

[freshseth83]

Double rear wings were featured on numerous cars. One is in GT5, The Castrol Supra.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Double rear wings were featured on numerous cars. One is in GT5, The Castrol Supra.

Not in rallying (R2 is a rally car). If my memory doesn't fail me the ugliest Group B cars, with very odd shapes and wings were the Sport quattro (R2) and the Metro 6R4 , even smaller than the Audi but featuring the same kind of shape and aero kits (and more, the Metro car even had a front wing ! )

The S4, in all its awesomeness, was aesthetically just an odd shaped, four wheeled box. Prettiest group B (IMHO) were the 037 (by far), The 205, even the Evo 2, and the RS200.

And if we care for those that conformed with Group B regs but never raced, then prettiest of all was the Ferrari 288 GTO

 

[Crash]

A car is fully developed when every ounce of performance is extracted from the car. I'd call the Audi R8 fully developed, or the Porsche RS Spyder, or the Audi R15 and it's + variant.

Problem is that with enough analysis, it is always possible to extract another ounce of performance. It just gets exponentially more expensive per marginal ounce.

A car is fully developed when the constructor decides to stop development on it. Those cars stopped racing when they were fully developed. Honestly, Toyota could try an F1 Nose if they wanted, they could put fans inside the brakes, they could do all manner of stuff. By your standards there is no such thing as "developed".

I'm not sure I would call it fully developed as you can always reduce weight, make somethings stronger/stiffer and/or makes some parts perform better. It's really about the amount of development per dollar though. If it costs too much money, then it obviously would just be easier to develop a new car. I'm not sure what a better way to put it is, but at least dropping "fully" from fully developed would be better.

I think they may increase their boost time rather than increase their boost amount

I agree. I think this would be the case instead of increasing power of the motors. For one, I'm not sure that there are any commercially viable motors with that much power that is small and light enough to place on a LMP car.

Is that double rear wings on the R2?
I like that last picture too. Thanks for the harmless, trivial talk. 👍

That looks like just a single wing with an extended section of the main top element and small sideplates separating the flow between the center section and the sides.

 

[sumbrownkid]

They should be unveiling the 2014 cars by the end of the year, no?

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

So what will they be called, Audi is still projected to race Porsche in 2014 if memory serves me correctly...

 

[hawkeye122]

They should be unveiling the 2014 cars by the end of the year, no?

Usually we get go see the new one testing at Sebr... Oh wait.

 

[Tower Turn 13]

That R10 at Sebring brings back memories...