Audi R8 Gt3 Price
There was something mildly inappropriate about the entry of four Audis for the 1999 Le Mans 24-hours. This was a race in which the leading contenders were traditionally charismatic sportscar producers – names like Ferrari, Jaguar and Porsche. Audi certainly had a fine record in rallying and touring car competition, but it was not a sportscar brand. Indeed, it did not even have such a vehicle in its road car line up.
Nearly a decade later Audi has become part of Le Mans legend with eight wins, only one victory short of Ferrari's second place total. The circuit of La Sarthe without it has become unthinkable. Yet for almost all of this time, these victories have been marketed to sell a range of, admittedly impressive, saloon and estate – not sports or GT – cars. All this changed in 2007 with the launch of the confusingly named R8, a true, two-seater, mid-engined GT car. Unlike the original, five times Le Mans winning R8 LMP1, after which it was named, this was intended for road use. Still, with a real, 187mph, GT now in its armoury it is not surprising that Audi is taking it racing. The Essen Show in late November saw the eagerly awaited unveiling of the R8 LMS, code named at Ingolstadt the R16, and eligible for the popular GT3 class. A driveable prototype had already taken to the tracks in August.
'Racing a road car is a culmination of all we have done since 1999,' Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Audi's director of motorsport told Racecar. 'It proves that Audi has made the big step from being seen in Touring Cars, where we had our last customer programme, to a point where we can compete with Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. We are now the most sporty brand in the top market segment. I think we can show this with the car that is the top of the Audi programme, the R8, and to make out of this car a customer sport programme. It shows the link between the development of the brand and the development that we have done in motorsport,' he said.
'This car was very much born out of our racing experience,' Ullrich added. 'When it was presented for the first time as a prototype at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, it was called the Audi 'Le Mans'. With a name like that it had to have sporting genes. It was an idea to make a car for the road that was linked to the racing. A real sportscar has to have a mid engine and a sporty layout. Once the R8 had gone into production we discussed how we could make a business project [out of a competition version]. It was always in our minds that the car would somehow, eventually, get into racing. The R8 road car was born out of racing, so why not bring out a special version of it to take it back to racing?'
Perfect basis
Work began in January 2008 with three times DTM champions Abt Sportsline building the first prototype and spearheading the development. This has been carried out, as Ullrich observes, 'only at the level necessary'. Thus as many existing components were used as possible. It was felt that the lightweight aluminium Audi Space Frame (ASF) used for the road car was a 'perfect' basis for motorsport. Neckarsulm-based Audi subsidiary quattro GmbH takes a standard R8 production chassis from the line and bolts in a steel roll cage – the wall thickness of which exceeds the regulations –
while the Audi Hungaria Kft at Györ production line supplies the 5.2-litre FSI direct fuel injection engine as seen in the recently introduced 90-degree V10 version of the R8, which is related to that found in the S6 and S8 models (the original has a 4.2-litre V8, which weights only 31kg less). With over 500bhp and more than 500Nm torque it is reckoned it will be one of the more powerful engines in GT3. The direct petrol injection is something that Audi first developed with the original R8 Le Mans winner.
The V10 is mounted longitudinally in front of the rear axle. Both of the cylinder heads house a pair of camshafts operating the four valves per cylinder. Audi Sport points out that the V10 has significantly lighter pistons and connecting rods than a V8 of comparable capacity. The comparably lower rotating masses allow a free-revving basic characteristic. Tests have shown that the production dry sump lubrication is suitable for all racing conditions. The system was found to reliably feed oil to all the necessary points in the engine even when subject to high centrifugal forces.
Engine control is by the Bosch Motronic system MED 9.1.2. The production based electronic unit and standard production wiring require a complex application procedure for the R16. Obviously functions such as the immobiliser system have been discarded.
The exhausts system has been fundamentally reworked for racing. Even though GT3 regulations do not specify the use of catalytic converters, the lightened exhaust manifolds on the right and left cylinder banks are both fitted with such. Dr Ullrich recalls that the decision was taken to fit a particulate filter to the R10 LMP1 even though, 'it was known that there would be no smoke emitted from the exhaust.' He continued: 'We always push that our cars should be as environmentally optimised as possible.' Thus, if there was a chance to use catalytic converters with the GT3 car, then that had to be taken, even though this was exceeding the requirements of GT3.
For Ullrich the main challenge was probably to make a rear-wheel-drive car out of a four-wheel-drive one with a completely different drive train. (Four-wheel drive systems such as the Audi quattro drive, standard on the road going R8, are prohibited by the GT3 regulations.) However, he believes that the R8 road car had 'quite a good base' for a racing version. 'A GT3 car should be as close as possible to the road car with just having the necessary changes for the race tracks.'
The sequential, pneumatic activated six-speed gearbox with shift paddles and twin-plate clutch is production based. A Holinger gear-dog ratio set replaces the standard, fully synchronised gear ratio set. The gearbox is also an example of how Audi has transferred technology from its racing programme. The pneumatic system originates from the R10 diesel powered, three times Le Mans winning LMP1. So too, does the rear wing profile, which is almost the same as that found on the R10. In keeping down the cost it was obvious to initially use existing wings in the wind tunnel. The basic wing profile of the R10 worked, says Ullrich, 'quite nicely'. The FIA has to evaluate a GT3 car in order to assure a level playing field for all the 12 cars currently homologated. Ballast weight and adjustment to the front and rear ride heights, air intake restrictors and rev limits await those who are too fast. Thus too much wing development could easily prove counterproductive. 'If you do a 'mega wing' then you will be given a weight penalty,' says Ullrich. 'We have a nice wing profile that works well at Le Mans so why not use it? We know how it works, so that was the basis of our development.' Homologation allows for just three rear wing positions.
The R8's all–aluminium bodyshell weights 210kg. Light alloys are used for the extruded sections, panels and vacuum cast nodes. Audi pours out the numbers: 99 metres of weld to join the chassis together; 782 punch rivets and 382 self-tapping screws.
Tough customer
As mentioned, many of the production R8's features are sufficient for the demands of racing. The ceramic brakes, for example, merely have to have different pads. However, a race ABS system has been adapted for the car as has traction control ASR. The double wishbone suspension parts made almost completely from forged aluminium are retained as production parts or differently machined production blanks. The lower front and upper rear wishbones are attached to higher mounting points in order to reduce the ride height. For the same reason the steering position has also been changed. The steering column length and angle can be adjusted while the Recaro Pro Racer seat moves longitudinally to accommodate different driver statures, GT3 races being of the two-driver variety. Specific motorsport parts include the anti-roll bars, the Eibach coil springs and the adjustable in bump and rebound Bilstein dampers. A 120-litre motorsport fuel tank is located behind the cockpit. Three pneumatically operated air jacks have also been fitted, as has been a Stäubli SAF 45 rapid refuelling system.
Audi claims that, apart from its large, R10-inspired wing, the R8 LMS appears almost identical to its road going counterpart. However, it undoubtedly looks a race version. Its centre of gravity is lower, its height of 1.19m being 5.4cm lower that the road version. It is also wider – 1.98m as opposed to 1.90m – thanks to the need to accommodate the 18-inch Michelin tyres (on OZ wheels) that are 270mm wide at the front and 310mm wide at the rear. The addition of a front splitter and the rear wing mean that the overall length has also grown by four centimetres to 4.47m. A diffuser is also fitted below the rear of the car. Audi claims: 'perfectly balanced aerodynamics,' for the road R8, it being one of the few production cars to generate downforce in road going form.
Other visual differences include vents in the wheel arches and an engine bay panel to improve aerodynamic performance. In addition, if the two small production water coolers found at the outer extremities of the front end were retained they would be exposed to unnecessary danger during a race. Therefore, the central water cooler also takes over their job, venting air through a large aperture in the front bonnet.
Virtually the entire outer skin is manufactured from carbon-fibre composite in order to avoid the greater cost of modifying the production aluminium components or pressing new metal bodywork panels. The doors are, however, standard while the roof panel also originates from the production line. The original body panel split lines have been retained to retain the appearance of the road going R8. Quick release fasteners, unnecessary on the latter, are used for the front bonnet and rear engine cover.
Initial testing was carried out by drivers Frank Biela, Frank Stippler and Christian Abt using the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Oschersleben and the EuroSpeedway at Lausitz. Five times Le Mans winner Bielea reckons that the car can be easily driven on the limit in a drift and so will not spring any surprises on the gentlemen drivers that can comprise half the entry of a GT3 race. The suspension forces recorded at the Nürburgring were fed into a hydraulic test bench computer. The simulation suggested a damage-free service life of as much as 40,000km.
A fully homologated R8 LMS has a target price of €262,000 plus VAT while SRO (Stéphane Ratel Organisation), the promoter of the FIA GT European Championship lists costs per driver and season as between €120,000 and €150,000.
So, for the first time in a long while Audis will be racing outside of the well-drilled factory operation, but Ullrich has no qualms, at least for the first year. There has been so much interest in the R16 that initially Audi can be selective about its customers. 'Once we start selling cars in higher numbers then it will be open. [But] The customers will have to be on the level of Audi Sport.' Engineers will be available to impart the information that they need and there will be a clear system for order, purchase and delivery of spare parts. 'What we offer as a service has to be fulfilled at the level the Audi brand is working on.'
The business plan dictates that during the first year eight plus four cars will be built. After that the intention is to 'speed up' to about 35 cars a year, the programme lasting up to 2012, 'then we will decide how to continue.' The programme is seen as a profit centre in its own right. Ullrich emphasises that the R16 is a customer programme which in no way effects Audi's factory prototype racing. However, this has been curtailed with the new R15 diesel only likely to appear at Sebring and Le Mans so, while this was not the original intention, the R8 LMS should help to maintain Audi's currently high profile in sportscar racing without it having to compete in either the LMS or ALMS championships.
It will be left up to the customers to make their own announcements. At the time of writing none had done so but reports elsewhere suggest that they will be three existing DTM teams, Abt Sportsline itself, Team Phoenix and Team Rosberg plus Audi Sport Italia. Ullrich believes that the car will be, at the least, represented in the six race FIA European GT3 series, the ADAC GT Masters and the Super Série FFSA (France) and Sara GT Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo championships. The company is also working on a version for 24-hour races such as that at the Nürburgring. Teams have already expressed an interest in running the R16 there. Ullrich says that, at present, there are no plans to produce versions of the R8 for any of the other recognised GT classes. However, Audi has stated that it is examining the chances of homologating the R8 LMS for the different regulations of the SPEED GT series in North America.
'It is good that we bring the R8 into this market,' says Dr Ullrich. 'There are already about 12 cars eligible for GT3, interesting cars, let us say dream cars, and the R8 fits well with them.'
Source: https://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/fia-gt3-audi-r8-lms/
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