Speed, safety, passion: Audi leads innovative technology through racing exploration

The reference news network reported on January 26 that according to the website of Spain's "Abésai" newspaper, a multi-faceted commitment to motorsport is a fundamental part of Audi's strategy. In the words of Audi CEO Marcus Disman: "We want to continue to pursue the brand's slogan 'Technology inspires the future' at the highest level in the automotive industry and develop innovative technologies for our urban vehicles." "This has always been the brand spirit of Audi, never satisfied with conformism, always going further to explore new areas. It explored the limits of technology in the race, and thus gave birth to the new technology that today's city cars are proud of.

Audi has been like this throughout history, relying on four-wheel-drive vehicles to win the World Rally Championship and on tracks around the world, bringing TDI technology to the top podium of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and relying on hybrid cars to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time.

Now, it is once again a pioneering brand in motorsport, becoming the first car manufacturer to develop a car concept using alternative energy powertrains to compete in the Dakar Rally. Andreas Ross, head of the Dakar project at its sub-brand Audi Sport, said: "We will try something that no one has ever done before, and we are facing the biggest challenge of electric powertrains. ”

Quattro: A brilliant idea that no one ever believed

The quattro drive is audi's hallmark. It represents driving safety and sportiness, technical experience and strengths in competition. Until then, no one had considered racing with a four-wheel drive car. It is understood that such a system increases the weight of the car, disperses power and reduces reliability. No one believes that the 4×4 drivetrain can withstand the harsh environment of a rally car.

In addition, the rules once banned the use of this technique in rally races. But in 1977, at Audi's request, the German side requested the Figuration of the International Automobile Confederation to authorize four-wheel-drive vehicles to participate in the World Rally Championship, and in 1979 the FIA allowed its use in its rules.

In 1981, Audi took the quattro drive to the World Rally Championship for the first time and won the title the following season. In 1982, Audi team won the manufacturer's championship. In 1983, Finnish driver Hanu Mikola won the Drivers' Championship. In 1984, Audi won the double championship and Swedish driver Stigg Blomkvist won the world championship. In 1987, Walter Rolle drove a specially modified Audi race car to victory at the Pikes Peak International Climb in the United States.

After triumphing from rally, Audi innovated again, bringing the quattro drive to the track, where the consistent perception was that the technology would only bring down the drawbacks of increased weight and friction. But history has once again proven the quattro drive right. In 1988, Audi made its first par-American Touring Car Championship and won the Driver's and Manufacturers' Championship titles with the Audi 200 Quattro. The following year, it was a great success in the GTO category of the IMSA Championship.

In 1996, the A4 quattro Supertouring dominated the circuit, competing in 7 national championships and winning all of them.

Diesel cars at Le Mans?

Once again, Audi broke the mold and lived up to its slogan of "Technology Inspires the Future" and set itself the goal of becoming the world's first manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel engine. The project began with a blank sheet of paper, and there was only 200 days between the first run-in test run of the Audi R10 TDI and the moment when the checkered flag was crossed in triumph.

2006 was Audi's 6th win at Le Mans (if you count Bentley's win in 2003, that's the 7th), but it was also the most difficult and important one. Propelled by a 650-horsepower V12 TDI twin-turbo engine, the Audi R10 TDI is not only the fastest car in the race (averaging 215.409 km/h), but also the least fuel-hungry.

Audi has continued to develop the technology, and since the TDI era began at Le Mans, it has managed to reduce the fuel consumption of its prototype by almost 40 percent, while significantly increasing the specific power by up to 24 percent.

The first victory of the hybrid at Le Mans

In 2012, the all-new R18 e-tron quattro was unveiled, achieving its first hybrid victory at Le Mans and winning the title again the following year and 2014.

The TDI engine complements the electro-generator unit (MGU) on the front axle and a battery capable of briefly delivering up to 170 kilowatts of power. That's why the Audi R18 e-tron quattro has four-wheel drive.

Travelling to Dakar with an alternative energy powertrain

Audi tackles new challenges with RS Q e-tron in Dakar. And, again, rely on the brand's most powerful weapons: quattro drives and cutting-edge technology for maximum energy efficiency. "The Quattro drive changed the rules of the game at the World Rally Championship, and Audi was the first manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an electric model. Now, we want to usher in a new era in the Dakar Rally while testing and developing our e-tron technology under extreme conditions. Julius Zebach, head of Audi Sport, said, "Our RS Q e-tron has evolved from a blank slate in record time and represents the technology that will inspire the future." ”

In order to design an electric car that can participate in the Dakar Rally, Audi had to develop a new technology. In the desert stage, the batteries could not be recharged, and the high energy requirements of the long-distance stages in Dakar did not allow the competition with electric cars with batteries, because the element was too big and too heavy. In this context, the Audi RS Q e-tron opted for an innovative concept: the TFSI engine acts as an energy converter to charge the high-voltage battery that powers the electric engine.

The prototype of the Audi RS Q e-tron was developed in about 12 months. Julius Zebach said. He concluded: "The Audi RS Q e-tron is the most technologically advanced vehicle that Audi Sport brings to the race. (Compilation/Sujavi)