Audi R8C

Lore & Background

In 1998, Audi announced its intention to enter the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans with only an open-cockpit prototype, the Audi R8R. However, following the dominant performance of GT1-class cars in the 1998 race, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) modified classification rules for 1999. The GT1 category was replaced with the more restrictive GTS category, and a new LMGTP category was created for closed-cockpit prototypes, freeing previous GT1 cars from production-car restrictions. With Toyota and Mercedes committing to the new rules, Audi decided to invest in the LMGTP class alongside the R8R program, leading to the R8C project.

Unlike the R8R, for which Audi turned to Dallara, the R8C was designed and developed by Racing Technology Norfolk (RTN), with Peter Elleray assigned the task and Tony Southgate consulting. The R8C and R8R share the same 600 hp 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, but are radically different aerodynamically. The R8C places most intakes and air exits on the sides, has thinner wheel arches (partially due to LMGTP rules stipulating thinner tires), and features open inner front wheel arches—a styling feature borrowed from the Toyota GT-One—to reduce air buildup and aid brake cooling. The cockpit is long and gradually sloping for aerodynamic efficiency, with raised humps above the driver's position creating a trough down the center of the roof to allow more air to reach the rear wing. The rear has a boxy, blunt tail, longer than that of the improved R8R.

Only two R8Cs were built, chassis No. 101 (car no. 10) and No. 102 (car no. 9), both raced by Richard Lloyd's Audi Sport UK. The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the only competition in which the R8Cs were entered.

Reader's Guide

The Audi R8C's significance lies in its role as Audi's closed-cockpit LMGTP entry for 1999, developed alongside the more successful R8R. Completed late, the R8C had very little test time prior to the Le Mans group test in May, and consequently suffered numerous setbacks. While capable of speeds over 350 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight, the cars lacked handling stability and overall lap speed. Aerodynamic instability caused a buildup of air under the engine cover, leading to the loss of rear engine covers at speed. In qualifying, car no. 10 placed 20th and car no. 9 placed 23rd, while the R8Rs qualified 9th and 11th. During the race, both R8Cs suffered gearbox failures—car no. 9 retired after 55 laps, car no. 10 after 198 laps—while both R8Rs finished 3rd and 4th.

After Le Mans, Audi concentrated on the R8R, leading to the R8 that won Le Mans five times between 2000 and 2005. However, Audi returned to the LMGTP class in 2001 with the Bentley EXP Speed 8, which, though visually similar to the R8C, was a fresh design using the Audi engine and aerodynamic lessons from the R8C. The Bentley Speed 8, the evolution of the EXP Speed 8 and somewhat the spiritual successor of the R8C, won Le Mans in 2003, becoming the only car to beat the Audi R8 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi would return to a closed-cockpit LMP1 car for the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans with the R18, which won the race.

Did You Know?

• The R8C was designed by Peter Elleray, with Tony Southgate consulting.
• Only two R8Cs were ever built, chassis No. 101 and No. 102.
• The R8C's open inner front wheel arches were a styling feature borrowed from the Toyota GT-One.