Audi mulling diesel hybrid hypercar

Audi is mulling the prospect of a diesel hypercar based on the R8. According to a report in Autocar UK, the machine is likely to be called the R10 and will be a roadgoing version of the highly successful R18 e-tron Quattro which dominated the 24-hour of Le Mans race this year.

The R18 e-tron Quattro is revolutionary due to the fact that its rear wheels are powered a V6 turbo diesel and the front wheels by two electric motors. The duo receives their power from a flywheel which gets recharged using the braking energy of the car.  

However, this is not their first foray into the world of diesel supercars. Audi has previously plonked a large 6.2-litre V12 diesel motor into the body of a R8. This slightly insane combination resulted in an output of a little more than 500bhp but with a ‘have to shell out for a new clutch every time I drive the car’ torque figure of 1000Nm. It also gave the car a top speed of 299kmph but with fuel efficiency of 12kmpl! It is unlikely that the Ingolstadt-based automaker will use any parts of this design apart from the body as it currently does not have a transmission capable of handling the torque other than that of the Veyron.   

If we are to go by Audi’s development process of using track racing to develop its road going cars (the Le Mans Quattro became the Audi R8), then it is very likely that this seemingly fuel-efficient monster will see the light of day in the future. 

Source: Autocar UK