F1:Audi F1

[plex]

Audi F1. The very idea is makes the heart skip a beat as if you’re thinking of something a bit taboo. Though everyone and their brother, sister and second cousin twice removed have whispered the unfounded rumors on internet forums and even on some news pages, most know that the likelihood of it actually happening is slim-to-none. Having invested considerably in the diesel R10 Le Mans program and shown a clear preference for participating in series where they can maximize on race-to-road technology development, it’s a very safe assumption to say that Audi won’t be going into Formula One any time soon. Still, seeing those four silver rings plastered on an F1 racecar is enough to cause some talk around the water cooler. All the better if such an sight is a super-detailed CGI based on an actual F1 chassis, as has been created by the talented Australian architect and designer Kim Stapleton.

As an Audi enthusiast, Kim has yearned to see the four-ringed brand in Formula One for years. From the time the designer initially laid eyes on the first studio imagery of the R10 TDI racecar, the car’s more radical and F1-looking aerodynamic shape, in particular the lines at the front, inspired him to go one step further and create a visualization of just what an Audi F1 entrant might look like.

Adding fuel to the fire were rumors at the time of Audi providing engines to the then-announced Red Bull team for 2008. Realistically, Kim knew this was unlikely, though that didn’t stop him from creating a 3D model of a potential 2006 Audi F1 racecar, later lightly modified to be the 2007-spec car Kim re-touched for this article.

The most important part of this project was making a believable Audi livery. In order to do that, Kim reviewed Audi’s racecar livery design language from the R10 and R8, back through the DTM years, STW in the mid 1990’s, and even the original Auto Union Grand Prix (F1 in its day) designs from the 1930s.

There was no question of color for Kim. If it was to be an Audi Sport sanctioned livery and not one by a main sponsor like Red Bull, then a factory-backed four-ringer had to be silver. “No compromise,â€

[3stagevtec]

A Diesel F1...

I doubt diesel engines will be able to rev as high as the current gasoline powered engines... but if diesel were to make it into F1, we might actually get to see an F1 car with Torque!

[God Bless the Black Top*]

those CG's make me hard in the pants

[sinners-bliss]

wow
if only eh

[Bezman]

I doubt diesel engines will be able to rev as high as the current gasoline powered engines... but if diesel were to make it into F1, we might actually get to see an F1 car with Torque!

yeah but with ~800BHP and 1200ftq from a twin turbo V10 diesel it wouldnt need to rev past 6000rpm and make insane power and torque to the gound and breakneck speed and acceleration.. and will further develop TDI technology..

Engine

The main novelty of the R10 is its engine: a TDI turbodiesel engine, running on Shell V-Power Diesel. It is a 5.5 L (335.6 ci) all-aluminium bi-turbo 90° V12, with common rail direct injection of more than 1600 bar (23,206 psi). Its output should be 650 hp (485 kW) (regulated) and 1100 N·m (811 ft·lbf) of torque, and its usable power band is between 3000 and 5000 rpm. Its benefits are a broad range of usable power, high torque and economy. Two Garrett TR3076R turbochargers limited by the regulations to 2.94 bar (42.64 psi) absolute breathe through two 39.9 mm intake air restrictors. It uses the latest Bosch Motronic (MS14) management, provided by Bosch Motorsport, 1600 bar piezo injectors, and makes a low noise for a race car.

It will be difficult for Audi to overcome the weight of this engine. The latest Audi TDI 3.0 L V6 (183 ci) weighs 220 kg (485 lb) and the 4.2 L V8 255 kg (256.2 ci, 562 lb) but their blocks are made of CGI iron. The V12 is rumoured to weigh upwards of 200 kg,[4] Audi engineers admit that the weight per cylinder is the same as the precededing 3.6-litre FSI V8 of the Audi R8.[5] The wheelbase has been increased over the R8 to 2980 mm to account for this. This is unfavorable against the 130 kg (287 lb) of a concurrent Judd V10, and even the 180 kg of the Ricardo turbodiesel prototype based on it.[6]

Audi's decision to use a diesel engine emphasizes the commercial success of TDI (and its competitors) on Europe's roads. It isn't however, the first diesel to be raced at Le Mans. In 2004 a Lola equipped with a Caterpillar re-badged VW V10 TDI ran for a few hours before breaking its gearbox. The first diesel-engined car to qualify and race at the 24 h race at Le Mans was a French entry in 1949, the first race held after the war. The car was the Delettrez Diesel entered by brothers Jean and Jacques Delettrez and was a 4395 cc 6-cylinder. It did not finish, running out of fuel about half way into the race. Delettrez entered again in 1950, as did another diesel car, the MAP. Again both cars DNF with engine problems, a cooling system leak in the case of the MAP. The MAP was interesting in that it was the first mid-engined car to race at Le Mans, the engine was located immediately behind the driver, and was a two-cylinder opposed piston two-stroke with rocking levers connected to a single crank, similar to the later Commer TS3 engine. Peugeot will compete with its new diesel effort in 2007 in its 908 race car.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_R10

[3stagevtec]

An F1 car shifting gears at 6000rpm!
and those Audi diesel engines are too quiet... too boring to be brought into F1 IMO....

[Bezman]

oooooookkkk then....

sorry but "your honest opinion" doesnt really mean anything to Audi, they are using the technology to improve street car technology currently in LeMans. and it works exceptionally well, and with the changes wanted by FIA to improve the competitiveness and downstream technology this looks like a quite feesable option.. and would bring about really good technology competitiveness, imagine a TDI Audi engine running down a NA V10 ferrari power plant, running toe to toe with teh best... and that same technology working for you everyday in your pickup or deisel car..