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Intel: Roadgoing R18 Project Intel from Georg Kacher Reveals Many, Many Details + Three Renders
When a collection of UK car magazines began quoting an interview session with Audi’s new development boss Wolfgang Duerheimer, one of the most headline-grabbing elements the German executive mentioned was his pitch to the Audi board of a new supercar from Ingolstadt. The basic idea is rather simple – a model to position above the more approachable R8 and one that digs heavily into the brand’s modern Le Mans heritage (i.e. diesel and hybrid) and exemplifies the brand’s ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ mantra.
When Duerheimer pitched it to the Brits, Top Gear reported that it was really more of an idea he was playing around with. We were hopeful, but we also know pitches such as these can fizzle into nothing just as easily as they might be approved and actually make it into production. The lack of detail had us skeptical, but a new intel report riddled with specific detail and written by Georg Kacher via Automobile Magazine has us thinking this is more than just a pet project for Audi’s new development boss.
Even better, the piece has three renders of just such a car well worth the click over to that site. We added the side view above, but there’s a rear view and a front view in the original story that you’ll not want to miss.
Back to those Kacher-sourced details – there are many. First, he refers to the car as “R20″, obviously a name Audi has yet to designate to a project though likely to be named to the firm’s next-generation LMP1 racer that will replace the R18 e-tron quattro. There’s no other intel that we’ve seen that would suggest ‘R20′ will be the name and in fact many magazines have referred to it as ‘R10′. We continue to refer to the car as R18 simply because that car has earned legendary status in its two years of competition thus far and because the R8 gained its name only after the R8 LMP1 was retired. The dominance and thus legendary status of any R20 LMP1 remains to be seen, though the R18 has already solidified its story in the annals of racing history.
From a design standpoint, Kacher suggests the car will borrow much from the configuration of today’s Le Mans racer. This means a trademark tailfin along the back, vertical LED headlight design, ventilated front and rear wings, an adjustable tail spoiler that may operate as an air brake like that of the Bugatti Veyron, further active aerodynamics, a canopy-style cockpit accessed via ‘gullwing’ style doors and single high-intensity windshield wiper. Whereas the R8 is more of a livable supercar, this car is said to be more ‘wild animl, a driving machine conceived by experts for real pros.’
Inside, Kacher suggests even more race-inspired kit. Figure a a multi-function center display instead of the usual array of instruments, active contour seats with integrated four point seat belts and camera-based surround view package rendering exterior rearview mirrors unnecessary.
As with the earlier Duerheimer-sourced intel from the various Brits, Kacher’s sources also suggest the car will be a diesel hybrid that should weigh in at roughly 550 hp. That number apparently doesn’t include two additional motors putting 75 additional hp at each front wheel in an e-quattro style arrangement that would allow for torque vectoring, zero emissions operation and an on-demand boost effect much like that enjoyed by Audi factory drivers at Le Mans.
Kacher even goes so far as to give an expected release date. His theory, likely based on information from one of his sources, suggests the car will debut in 2015 at Pebble Beach to help commemorate the achievement of Audi’s expected sales goal of 1.5 M cars annually. He goes further to suggest that production will commence in the spring of 2016 and that overall production numbers could be as low as 100-250 units.
Our Take
Stylistically speaking, the renders in this story are hard not to love. They make interesting use of the haunched fender designs of Audi LMP racers and offer a subtle production take on the LMP1 trademark tail fin. They also take the wrap-around canopy design and apply it to a supercar for a bit of a Pagani Zonda sort of feel. Specific Audi destails are added such as the vertically stacked headlights and the grille, though the geek in us finds inconsistencies here. First, the renders use the uber cool ’1′ logo LED DRLs found on the 2011 R18 TDI. These are now a year old design and likely won’t find a place on an Audi launched in 2015.
The other geek detail that doesn’t match up is the grille. Though shorter to accommodate the shape of a super car, the design is lifted nearly wholesale from the latest Crosslane Coupe concept seen in Paris. Audi design boss Wolfgang Egger suggested that grille design will be an element on Q models. We’d guess a production R model will get something slightly different and likely with the rings positioned on the hood as they are on the R8 and were on the quattro Concept.
As for the intel, we’ve often labeled Georg Kacher as our E.F. Hutton and count his level of connectivity with Ingolstadt amongst the best in the world. In as much, we’ve no doubt that all of this is under consideration as this car moves toward possible approval by the board. That it is so far out there suggests though that this is all both subject to change or, worse, not come to fruition at all.
Going for the project is a program Wolfgang Duerheimer is likely very familiar with – that of the Porsche 918 and so-called MSB-M platform architecture. For those who aren’t familiar, MSB-M is the mid-engine variant of the modular sports matrix architecture being developed by Porsche. It was heavily considered for the next-generation R8 and Gallardo, though those cars were so far down the development process road that it appears they’ll move forward with the Audi-developed MSS modular mid-engine sportscar chassis. Eventually though, these two will likely move to MSB and join other Volkswagen Group offerings there… notably future Porsche models.
The Porsche 918 is likely more than just an inspiration for such an idea. The open-topped 918 with its petrol V8 hybrid configuration is very close to production and lessons learned with this production hybrid supercar can very easily be applied to the Audi. Further, with a V6 TDI (likely higher-capacity version of 3.0 Bi-TDI) hybrid quattro Audi supercar won’t be a seriously direct competitor to Porsche within the market. Combine that with Audi’s diesel and hybrid racing cred and you have a car that can very readily emphasize the ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ theme that is so set in the DNA of the four rings. While BMW and Acura are just now mounting competition to the super successful R8, it seems Audi is ready to up their game even further.
In case you haven’t clicked that link yet, make sure to check out the Kacher story and all three of those renders in high-resolution over at Automobile Magazine’s website HERE.
When a collection of UK car magazines began quoting an interview session with Audi’s new development boss Wolfgang Duerheimer, one of the most headline-grabbing elements the German executive mentioned was his pitch to the Audi board of a new supercar from Ingolstadt. The basic idea is rather simple – a model to position above the more approachable R8 and one that digs heavily into the brand’s modern Le Mans heritage (i.e. diesel and hybrid) and exemplifies the brand’s ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ mantra.
When Duerheimer pitched it to the Brits, Top Gear reported that it was really more of an idea he was playing around with. We were hopeful, but we also know pitches such as these can fizzle into nothing just as easily as they might be approved and actually make it into production. The lack of detail had us skeptical, but a new intel report riddled with specific detail and written by Georg Kacher via Automobile Magazine has us thinking this is more than just a pet project for Audi’s new development boss.
Even better, the piece has three renders of just such a car well worth the click over to that site. We added the side view above, but there’s a rear view and a front view in the original story that you’ll not want to miss.
Back to those Kacher-sourced details – there are many. First, he refers to the car as “R20″, obviously a name Audi has yet to designate to a project though likely to be named to the firm’s next-generation LMP1 racer that will replace the R18 e-tron quattro. There’s no other intel that we’ve seen that would suggest ‘R20′ will be the name and in fact many magazines have referred to it as ‘R10′. We continue to refer to the car as R18 simply because that car has earned legendary status in its two years of competition thus far and because the R8 gained its name only after the R8 LMP1 was retired. The dominance and thus legendary status of any R20 LMP1 remains to be seen, though the R18 has already solidified its story in the annals of racing history.
From a design standpoint, Kacher suggests the car will borrow much from the configuration of today’s Le Mans racer. This means a trademark tailfin along the back, vertical LED headlight design, ventilated front and rear wings, an adjustable tail spoiler that may operate as an air brake like that of the Bugatti Veyron, further active aerodynamics, a canopy-style cockpit accessed via ‘gullwing’ style doors and single high-intensity windshield wiper. Whereas the R8 is more of a livable supercar, this car is said to be more ‘wild animl, a driving machine conceived by experts for real pros.’
Inside, Kacher suggests even more race-inspired kit. Figure a a multi-function center display instead of the usual array of instruments, active contour seats with integrated four point seat belts and camera-based surround view package rendering exterior rearview mirrors unnecessary.
As with the earlier Duerheimer-sourced intel from the various Brits, Kacher’s sources also suggest the car will be a diesel hybrid that should weigh in at roughly 550 hp. That number apparently doesn’t include two additional motors putting 75 additional hp at each front wheel in an e-quattro style arrangement that would allow for torque vectoring, zero emissions operation and an on-demand boost effect much like that enjoyed by Audi factory drivers at Le Mans.
Kacher even goes so far as to give an expected release date. His theory, likely based on information from one of his sources, suggests the car will debut in 2015 at Pebble Beach to help commemorate the achievement of Audi’s expected sales goal of 1.5 M cars annually. He goes further to suggest that production will commence in the spring of 2016 and that overall production numbers could be as low as 100-250 units.
Our Take
Stylistically speaking, the renders in this story are hard not to love. They make interesting use of the haunched fender designs of Audi LMP racers and offer a subtle production take on the LMP1 trademark tail fin. They also take the wrap-around canopy design and apply it to a supercar for a bit of a Pagani Zonda sort of feel. Specific Audi destails are added such as the vertically stacked headlights and the grille, though the geek in us finds inconsistencies here. First, the renders use the uber cool ’1′ logo LED DRLs found on the 2011 R18 TDI. These are now a year old design and likely won’t find a place on an Audi launched in 2015.
The other geek detail that doesn’t match up is the grille. Though shorter to accommodate the shape of a super car, the design is lifted nearly wholesale from the latest Crosslane Coupe concept seen in Paris. Audi design boss Wolfgang Egger suggested that grille design will be an element on Q models. We’d guess a production R model will get something slightly different and likely with the rings positioned on the hood as they are on the R8 and were on the quattro Concept.
As for the intel, we’ve often labeled Georg Kacher as our E.F. Hutton and count his level of connectivity with Ingolstadt amongst the best in the world. In as much, we’ve no doubt that all of this is under consideration as this car moves toward possible approval by the board. That it is so far out there suggests though that this is all both subject to change or, worse, not come to fruition at all.
Going for the project is a program Wolfgang Duerheimer is likely very familiar with – that of the Porsche 918 and so-called MSB-M platform architecture. For those who aren’t familiar, MSB-M is the mid-engine variant of the modular sports matrix architecture being developed by Porsche. It was heavily considered for the next-generation R8 and Gallardo, though those cars were so far down the development process road that it appears they’ll move forward with the Audi-developed MSS modular mid-engine sportscar chassis. Eventually though, these two will likely move to MSB and join other Volkswagen Group offerings there… notably future Porsche models.
The Porsche 918 is likely more than just an inspiration for such an idea. The open-topped 918 with its petrol V8 hybrid configuration is very close to production and lessons learned with this production hybrid supercar can very easily be applied to the Audi. Further, with a V6 TDI (likely higher-capacity version of 3.0 Bi-TDI) hybrid quattro Audi supercar won’t be a seriously direct competitor to Porsche within the market. Combine that with Audi’s diesel and hybrid racing cred and you have a car that can very readily emphasize the ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ theme that is so set in the DNA of the four rings. While BMW and Acura are just now mounting competition to the super successful R8, it seems Audi is ready to up their game even further.
In case you haven’t clicked that link yet, make sure to check out the Kacher story and all three of those renders in high-resolution over at Automobile Magazine’s website HERE.
Much better sounds in live 
