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agro1
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AndyThoma
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AUDI AG is once again one step ahead of the opposition: The inventor of ?TDI? will become the world?s first automobile manufacturer to fight for overall victory with a diesel engine at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. The all-new Audi R10, which was unveiled on Tuesday in Paris, is powered by a totally new 5.5-liter, twelve-cylinder bi-turbo TDI engine, which is extremely quiet and economical.
The Le Mans Prototype, with over 650 hp and more than 1,100 Newton meters torque, significantly exceeds the power produced by the majority of previous Audi racing cars ? including that of its victorious R8 predecessor. Audi ventures into previously unexplored diesel-engine terrain with the V12 power plant manufactured completely from aluminum. As with the TFSI technology, which triumphed initially at Le Mans before being adopted for mass-production, Audi customers should benefit once again from the lessons learned in motorsport.
?With the A8 4.2 TDI quattro, Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars in the world,? explained Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the R10 presentation in Paris. ?The Le Mans project will help our technicians to extract even more from TDI technology. Nowadays, every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine. We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even larger in the future.?
The R10 prototype?s V12 power unit, which is equipped with two diesel particle filters, is hardly recognizable as a diesel thanks to the engine?s smooth running nature. The TDI engine?s specialties presented the Audi Sport engineers with a whole list of challenges. The injection pressure easily exceeds the 1,600 bar achieved in production cars. The usable power band lies between 3,000 and 5,000 revs per minute ? an unusually low rev range for a racing engine. The driver must change gear in the R10 far less often than in the R8 because of the TDI engines favorable torque curve.
The enormous torque of over 1,100 Newton meters does not only make extreme demands of the R10 transmission system ? even the latest generation of engine dynamometers at Audi Sport had to be re-equipped with special gearboxes capable of withstanding the unusual forces.
Additionally, radical changes to the chassis were also necessary. The Audi R10 has a significantly longer wheel base than the R8. The overly wide front tires are, up until now, unique for a Le Mans Prototype. New technologies were also implemented during the development of the carbon-fiber monocoque. Chassis, engine and gearbox form an extremely rigid, fully stressed unit.
?The R10 project is the biggest challenge ever to have been handed to Audi Sport,? said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. ?TDI technology has not been pushed to its limits in motorsport yet. We are the first to confront the challenge. The demands of such a project are accordingly high. Long-term technology partners such as Bosch, Michelin and Shell support us in our quest. Together we have the chance to write new chapters in the history books of motorsport and diesel technology.?
The new Audi R10 successfully completed its first test at the end of November. An extensive test program, including the 12-hour race at Sebring, FL on March 18, is scheduled before the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17/18, 2006. The development team from Audi Sport is supported by Reinhold Joest?s squad, which also performed this task during the R8 project.
The Le Mans Prototype, with over 650 hp and more than 1,100 Newton meters torque, significantly exceeds the power produced by the majority of previous Audi racing cars ? including that of its victorious R8 predecessor. Audi ventures into previously unexplored diesel-engine terrain with the V12 power plant manufactured completely from aluminum. As with the TFSI technology, which triumphed initially at Le Mans before being adopted for mass-production, Audi customers should benefit once again from the lessons learned in motorsport.
?With the A8 4.2 TDI quattro, Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars in the world,? explained Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the R10 presentation in Paris. ?The Le Mans project will help our technicians to extract even more from TDI technology. Nowadays, every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine. We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even larger in the future.?
The R10 prototype?s V12 power unit, which is equipped with two diesel particle filters, is hardly recognizable as a diesel thanks to the engine?s smooth running nature. The TDI engine?s specialties presented the Audi Sport engineers with a whole list of challenges. The injection pressure easily exceeds the 1,600 bar achieved in production cars. The usable power band lies between 3,000 and 5,000 revs per minute ? an unusually low rev range for a racing engine. The driver must change gear in the R10 far less often than in the R8 because of the TDI engines favorable torque curve.
The enormous torque of over 1,100 Newton meters does not only make extreme demands of the R10 transmission system ? even the latest generation of engine dynamometers at Audi Sport had to be re-equipped with special gearboxes capable of withstanding the unusual forces.
Additionally, radical changes to the chassis were also necessary. The Audi R10 has a significantly longer wheel base than the R8. The overly wide front tires are, up until now, unique for a Le Mans Prototype. New technologies were also implemented during the development of the carbon-fiber monocoque. Chassis, engine and gearbox form an extremely rigid, fully stressed unit.
?The R10 project is the biggest challenge ever to have been handed to Audi Sport,? said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. ?TDI technology has not been pushed to its limits in motorsport yet. We are the first to confront the challenge. The demands of such a project are accordingly high. Long-term technology partners such as Bosch, Michelin and Shell support us in our quest. Together we have the chance to write new chapters in the history books of motorsport and diesel technology.?
The new Audi R10 successfully completed its first test at the end of November. An extensive test program, including the 12-hour race at Sebring, FL on March 18, is scheduled before the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17/18, 2006. The development team from Audi Sport is supported by Reinhold Joest?s squad, which also performed this task during the R8 project.
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AndyThoma
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For the record 2004 V10 TDI Treg's did make it to this country I owned one until a dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse to trade for a Cayenne Turbo. V10 TDI's did not make it for 2005 because of a dispute between VW/Audi AG and the EPA over the refillable particulate filtration system the Treg was going to use to meet 2005 emissions standards. The EPA took the odd position at the last moment that a particulate trap that needs replacing at 100,000+ miles was not an acceptable solution. My V10 was chipped when I bought it so with that caveat in place let me say it was extremely torquey and deceptively smooth. My truck was debadged so most people who rode in it assumed it was a gas V8 and were surprised when i told them it was diesel. I got 18mpg on an average tank of fuel with mixed use and logged 21.2 mpg for a 2200 mile round trip to Denver, CO and back at 80-90 mph the entire way. Its torque simply flattened the mountains at low rpm like few vehicles can. I pulled Floyd hill in sixth at 85 mph with five adults inside, a big Thule box uptop and still had plenty of power to accelerate after slowing down for Johnny Law without kicking down to fifth. That leg wasn't so great on the mileage though it got more like 12 mpg on the run up to Vail and back
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AndyThoma
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The first 50 or so non-compliant units were at the port in New Jersey but none were delivered to dealers. I heard VW refitted them for sale in Canada, but nobody seems to know for sure. The first year models are of course grandfathered in and only have to meet the requirements that were in place when they were sold. Used ones are around if you look.
Chris Browne said:
Perkins? http://www.perkins.com/perkins/cda/articleDisplay/1,4094,7___32_____7_10022049,00.html