2007 Audi R10 TDI Diesel Win

Lore & Background

The Audi Le Mans quattro was the third and final concept car designed by Audi in 2003, following the Pikes Peak quattro and the Nuvolari quattro. Audi's subsidiary quattro GmbH subsequently decided to produce it as a production road car, calling it the R8, named after Audi's R8 LMP race car, which is notable for being one of the most successful cars in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with five overall wins.

In Their Own Story

The air at La Sarthe was thick with skepticism as the green lights flickered on. While the Ferraris and McLarens roared with high-pitched gasoline fury, the Audi R10 TDI hummed a deeper, mechanical rhythm. As the sun dipped below the horizon on Saturday night, the diesel's advantage became clear: while rivals scurried back to the pits for fuel, Kristensen and his teammates pushed the R10 through the darkness, their tires whispering against the tarmac, carrying the weight of history in every revolution of the turbos.

Reader's Guide

The car features a number of high-technology elements, including headlights composed entirely of LEDs, an Audi Space Frame made entirely of aluminium shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo, and an outer skin of carbon fibre and aluminium. It has an electronically controlled rear spoiler that raises at 70 mph (110 km/h), magnetic ride magneto rheological dampers, and quattro permanent four-wheel drive. The engine is a 5.0 L DOHC twin-turbocharged TFSI V10 producing 449 kW (610 PS; 602 hp) and 750 N⋅m (553 lb⋅ft) of torque, with a six-speed automated manual transmission shared with the Gallardo.

Did You Know?

• The Audi Le Mans quattro's headlights were composed entirely of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
• The car's structural framework, the Audi Space Frame, is made entirely of aluminium and shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo.
• The Le Mans quattro's engine and the Gallardo's engine both have the same displacement but use different cylinder heads and twin-turbochargers with Fuel Stratified Injection technology.