In the 2000s and 2010s, Audi dominated resistance races. The brand He won 24 hours from Le Mans 13 times in 15 yearsenough to make it the second brand with more victories in the history of the race. The most advanced LE Mans winner of the company was the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, a hybrid LMP1 that sent power to the front wheels through an energy storage system in the inertia steering wheel and that ultimately became the first hybrid car to win the 24h of Le Mans. Now, a decade later, Audi sells a copy in operation directly to a lucky client.
The first winning hybrid car in Le Mans that you can buy and drive
This is an R18 e-tron quattro of 2012, the first-year version of Audi’s hybrid pioneer, four times winner of Le Mans, and will be the First example sold by the new group “Audi Sport racing Legends”. The same department also puts on sale another famous career Audi, in this case a 2015 DTM with the form of an Audi RS 5. Both cars are offered as complete and functional models, designed to circulate on the track as if they were new.
Racing cars are usually complex machines, and The 2010 hybrid LMP1 were possibly the most complex ever built. An original R18 is unique even for those standards, with a hybrid inertia steering wheel system and a V6 diesel engine that made even the V4 of the Porsche 919 Hybrid seem normal. This is what makes buying a car directly from Audi had such a clear advantage: the manufacturer states that The new Audi Sport Racing Legends program also includes “periodic technical inspections, the offer of repairs, as well as an expert spare parts and advice service of old developers.”
This level of privileges is not entirely unique; Ferrari, in particular, has been offering similar services to F1 cars buyers for decades through its Cors Clienti program. What makes the Audi program as interesting is that this comprehensive service level is offered to such an unique (and challenging) car, opening a new way for collectors seeking to drive cars LMP1 ultramodern as conceived.
Ah, and a note for the future owner: can we drive it?
Fred Smith’s love for cars comes from his fascination with car races. Unfortunately, that passion led him to lead a first -year Porsche Panamera with a high mileage. Keep thinking about the last turn of the 500 miles of Indianapolis of 2011.
Specialized in the motor world, competition and technology, Antonio Ramos Ochoa is the editor of Car and Driver. It is said that before getting out of the car I was already saying the name of the cars that I was seeing down the street. A few years later he continues to talk about one of his passions here. Motorsport fan, cinema, video games and history, even sorry from time to time at the wheel of a kart or a simulator.
