Audi R8C
Encyclopedia
The Audi R8C was a Le Mans Prototype
automobile built by Audi
for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
designed by Peter Elleray
. It was developed alongside the open Audi R8R
spyder
, prior to being replaced by the all-new Audi R8 in 2000.
in 1998, the plan was to enter an open-cockpit prototype, known as the Audi R8R
. However, following the dominant performance of GT1-class cars in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest
(ACO) modified classification rules in order to create a new class known as LMGTP, which would be closed-cockpit prototypes, realistically replacing the powerful, purpose-built GT1 cars.
Following this rule change, Audi decided that it should invest in this new LMGTP class, thus forcing it to design a whole new car, vastly different from the R8R. With the aid of Audi's new engineering partner Racing Technology Norfolk (RTN), Audi designer Tony Southgate
set out to design the new R8C, unlike the R8R which was built by Dallara
.
The R8C and R8R both used the 600 hp 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine
, but were be radically different aerodynamically. While the R8R would have a large number of vents on the nose of the car, most of the intakes and air exits on the R8C would be placed on the side of the car. The R8C would also use thinner wheel arches, partially due to LMGTP rules stipulating that LMGTPs used thinner tires in comparison to LMPs in order to make up for the better aerodynamic efficiency, and thus increased potential speed, of closed-cockpit cars. Using a styling feature borrowed from the Toyota GT-One
, the inside of the front wheel arches would also be opened, in order to not only allow air to exit from the front wheel wells, but also to assist in brake cooling.
For the cockpit of the R8C, a long sloped windshield would extend far down the nose. For the roof, the minimum roof height would be achieved with the use of raised humps above the driver's position, yet would be lowered in between these humps for better aerodynamic efficiency to the rear wing.
The rear of the car featured a boxy, blunt tail that was developed from the improved R8R, yet would be longer in order to better maximize the coupe's aerodynamics.
in May. At this group test, the cars suffered numerous setbacks and lacked the pace of the open-cockpit brothers. Although they were capable of hitting speeds upwards of 350 km/h (217 mph) on the Mulsanne straight, they lacked the handling ability and overall speed for a full lap. While the R8Rs managed the 8th and 11th fastest times, the R8Cs could only muster 22nd and 28th fastest. The R8Cs mostly suffered from aerodynamic problems, especially in the build-up of air underneath the engine cover. This caused the R8Cs to lose their rear engine covers on several occasions while at speed.
For the race itself, the R8Cs were unable to find much improvement over the month off. Qualifying was more of the same, as the R8Cs managed only 20th and 23rd places, while the R8Rs were still 9th and 11th. During the race, both the R8R and R8C suffered numerous gearbox difficulties. One R8C was forced to drop out of the race after just 55 laps, while the second R8C succumbed to gearbox failure after the midpoint of the race. Even though the R8Rs suffered gearbox difficulties, both cars managed to finish the race, taking third and fourth place.
Following Le Mans, Audi decided it would concentrate on only one of the two types of cars for the future of their program. The dismal performance of the R8C, along with the exodus from the LMGTP class by most major manufacturers, led Audi to develop an open-cockpit car - the R8.
Audi returned to the LMGTP class in 2001 in the form of the Bentley EXP Speed 8
. Although similar to the R8C, the EXP Speed 8 shared nothing with the previous LMGTP except for its Audi turbocharged V8. Aerodynamic lessons from the R8C were, however, carried over for the Bentley.
Only two R8Cs were ever built, chassis #101 and #102, both raced by Richard Lloyd
's Audi
Sport UK. The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
would be their only competition.
Audi returned to the closed-cockpit competition in 2011 when new regulations took effect: the new car is called the R18; Wolfgang Ullrich stated in an Autosport
interview in 2010 that the R18 will be a closed roof coupe similar to the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, the R8C and the Bentley Speed 8.
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
automobile built by Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
designed by Peter Elleray
Peter Elleray
Peter Elleray is an English engineer and race car designer particularly known for designing the Bentley Speed 8 race car. Elleray, who worked for Racing Technologies Norfolk , also designed the Audi R8C and the British Radical SR9...
. It was developed alongside the open Audi R8R
Audi R8R
The Audi R8R was a Le Mans Prototype built by Audi for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a predecessor to the dominant Audi R8 which debuted in 2000. It was raced alongside the British built closed-cockpit Audi R8C.-Development:...
spyder
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, prior to being replaced by the all-new Audi R8 in 2000.
Development
At the time of Audi's announcement of its intention to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1998, the plan was to enter an open-cockpit prototype, known as the Audi R8R
Audi R8R
The Audi R8R was a Le Mans Prototype built by Audi for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a predecessor to the dominant Audi R8 which debuted in 2000. It was raced alongside the British built closed-cockpit Audi R8C.-Development:...
. However, following the dominant performance of GT1-class cars in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 6 and 7 1998.-Race:1998 saw a significant increase in manufacturer involvement. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz remained, with upgraded cars in both GT1 and LMP. Toyota sent three of their new, extremely fast...
, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...
(ACO) modified classification rules in order to create a new class known as LMGTP, which would be closed-cockpit prototypes, realistically replacing the powerful, purpose-built GT1 cars.
Following this rule change, Audi decided that it should invest in this new LMGTP class, thus forcing it to design a whole new car, vastly different from the R8R. With the aid of Audi's new engineering partner Racing Technology Norfolk (RTN), Audi designer Tony Southgate
Tony Southgate
Tony Southgate is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was responsible for the chassis design of Ford's RS200 Group B rally car...
set out to design the new R8C, unlike the R8R which was built by Dallara
Dallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...
.
The R8C and R8R both used the 600 hp 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, but were be radically different aerodynamically. While the R8R would have a large number of vents on the nose of the car, most of the intakes and air exits on the R8C would be placed on the side of the car. The R8C would also use thinner wheel arches, partially due to LMGTP rules stipulating that LMGTPs used thinner tires in comparison to LMPs in order to make up for the better aerodynamic efficiency, and thus increased potential speed, of closed-cockpit cars. Using a styling feature borrowed from the Toyota GT-One
Toyota GT-One
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...
, the inside of the front wheel arches would also be opened, in order to not only allow air to exit from the front wheel wells, but also to assist in brake cooling.
For the cockpit of the R8C, a long sloped windshield would extend far down the nose. For the roof, the minimum roof height would be achieved with the use of raised humps above the driver's position, yet would be lowered in between these humps for better aerodynamic efficiency to the rear wing.
The rear of the car featured a boxy, blunt tail that was developed from the improved R8R, yet would be longer in order to better maximize the coupe's aerodynamics.
Racing history
Unlike the R8R, which performed the bulk of the testing because they were completed first, the R8C had very little time to test prior to the initial group test for the 24 Hours of Le Mans24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in May. At this group test, the cars suffered numerous setbacks and lacked the pace of the open-cockpit brothers. Although they were capable of hitting speeds upwards of 350 km/h (217 mph) on the Mulsanne straight, they lacked the handling ability and overall speed for a full lap. While the R8Rs managed the 8th and 11th fastest times, the R8Cs could only muster 22nd and 28th fastest. The R8Cs mostly suffered from aerodynamic problems, especially in the build-up of air underneath the engine cover. This caused the R8Cs to lose their rear engine covers on several occasions while at speed.
For the race itself, the R8Cs were unable to find much improvement over the month off. Qualifying was more of the same, as the R8Cs managed only 20th and 23rd places, while the R8Rs were still 9th and 11th. During the race, both the R8R and R8C suffered numerous gearbox difficulties. One R8C was forced to drop out of the race after just 55 laps, while the second R8C succumbed to gearbox failure after the midpoint of the race. Even though the R8Rs suffered gearbox difficulties, both cars managed to finish the race, taking third and fourth place.
Following Le Mans, Audi decided it would concentrate on only one of the two types of cars for the future of their program. The dismal performance of the R8C, along with the exodus from the LMGTP class by most major manufacturers, led Audi to develop an open-cockpit car - the R8.
Audi returned to the LMGTP class in 2001 in the form of the Bentley EXP Speed 8
Bentley Speed 8
The Bentley Speed 8 was a Le Mans Prototype race car that was designed by Peter Elleray. EXP Speed 8 debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001, the Speed 8 car finally winning in 2003...
. Although similar to the R8C, the EXP Speed 8 shared nothing with the previous LMGTP except for its Audi turbocharged V8. Aerodynamic lessons from the R8C were, however, carried over for the Bentley.
Only two R8Cs were ever built, chassis #101 and #102, both raced by Richard Lloyd
Richard Lloyd (racing driver)
Richard Lloyd was a British racing car driver and founder of multiple sports car and touring car teams...
's Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
Sport UK. The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
would be their only competition.
Audi returned to the closed-cockpit competition in 2011 when new regulations took effect: the new car is called the R18; Wolfgang Ullrich stated in an Autosport
Autosport
Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...
interview in 2010 that the R18 will be a closed roof coupe similar to the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, the R8C and the Bentley Speed 8.
External links
- Mulsannes Corner - Audi R8C analysis