Audi Developing Hybrid Hypercar
A few years ago, Audi announced that it would be developing a drivetrain for the R8 supercar that would be based sort of around it’s LeMans prototype racers in that it would be a hybrid diesel electric drivetrain that would make all the torques. That ultimately failed spectacularly when the prototype burst into flames and burned to the ground, leaving not much besides the rims.
Today however, rumors are swirling that Audi still wants to build a race derived supercar that more accurately bridges the gap between racecar and road models. According to Motor Und Sport, the new car is called the R10, at least around the office at the moment. It will use a combined drivetrain of a 6.0 L Lamborghini derived V10 and a pair of electric motors totaling some 1000 hp.
According to the report, the new supercar, or in my opinion hypercar, will borrow significant design language from the LeMan’s winning R18 racecars that have dominated the sport for years.
What’s interesting about the rumor is that 1. It will use cylinder deactivation to become more frugal during low load driving and not have a full electric, and 2. That it is supposed to go straight up against the Porsche 918 another VAG asset.
Porsche has been fighting so hard against inter company operations lately that it seems the rivalry has taken a drastic turn. We all saw the little video Audi’s race team sent Porsche before the start of LeMans this year as “a come gets us”, maybe Audi’s road division the same type of unease especially after Porsche released the 918 with all its rave reviews?
The report goes on to say that a thinly veiled concept production car might be previewed in the next few months at one of the major auto shows. Fingers crossed.