Since it's 2006 debut, the Audi R10 TDI has raced exclusively in the American Le Mans Series except for the annual June trek to France for the big all-day race. This past weekend a pair of R10s campaigned by the Joest team made their first run in the European Le Mans series with a second place finish in season opener at Barcelona. The Audis were again competing against the pair of Peugeot 908 HDi coupes which won the European championship last year. The Audi of Dindo Capello and Allan McNish finished second to the Peugeot of Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gené. The second Audi and Peugeot finished 5th and 6th respectively. The Barcelona race, like most of the European races, was more of an endurance run with a length of 1,000km compared to the 2-3 hour sprints that make up most of the American series. Audi is planning to run both the full European and American seasons this year with Joest handling the duties overseas while Champion Racing campaigns the cars in the ALMS. Unfortunately, it appears that we won't be seeing the Peugeots stateside again this year. Hopefully they will at least come over to participate in the Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the fall.
While it may be too late for Toyota to enter this years running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it may have a hybrid surprise up its sleeve for 2009. Perhaps buoyed by a win in Tohachi last year with their capacitor-equipped Supra HV-R, the company is out to gain some hybrid fame by building a vehicle to snatch the crown from the reigning Audi oil-burners.
Toyota hasn't yet formally committed and according to their head of R&D, Kazuo Okamoto, "We want to enter when we are confident of victory," And indeed, victory would be a sweet way to mark their return to the "greatest race in the world" (with apologies to the Daytona 500, the Gran Prix at Monaco and, of course, the Tour de France) after a 10 year absence. Of course, Toyota might get a shock from Peugeots combining of the twocompeting technologies but that's why they call it racing.
Peugeot may well be the first team to run a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans and it looks like it will be a diesel, too. New Peugeot CEO recently told the French paper L'Equipe that a diesel-hybrid prototype is currently under development and that it may make some trial runs as soon as this June at Le Mans. Collin also said the car would begin racing in 2009. Peugeot Sport team manager Serge Saulnier, however, is being a little more cautious, acknowledging that a diesel hybrid is in the works. However, Saulnier would not confirm when the car would appear in public. Peugeot has already shown several diesel hybrid concepts based on production 307s and 308s and has acknowledged that they are planning to introduce such a powertrain in the next few years. Toyota may also be making a return to Le Mans as soon as 2010 possibly with a gas-electric hybrid. Let's just hope they bring some of these cars over to the American Le Mans Series and really spice things up.
UK Defence Minister Lord Paul Drayson took a "leave of absence" (that's a nice way of saying he quit) from his job to race a bio-ethanol car in Le Mans. Here's part of what Lord Drayson said in a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown;
As you know I have a passion for motor racing and over the past year have competed in the British GT championship racing a unique bio-ethanol fuelled race car, achieving a 'historic first' win for a green-fuelled car and coming second overall in the championship. ... A number of special circumstances have now presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take my racing to the next level. ... I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race. ... So this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase British motorsport technology for environmentally friendly racing.
Let's see, Drayson's choices were to oversee a $30 Billion war in Iraq (it's an unpaid position) or try and win Le Mans with a bio-ethanol race car? I wonder if Rumsfeld is racing green cars now that he resigned?
Today we have the pleasure of introducing you to our new AutoblogGreen project car. The vehicle that you see in the photos is a 1966 Pontiac LeMans convertible. If you don't know what a LeMans is, or if the LeMans that you know is from the '80s, this is the car that the venerable GTO was based on. As a matter of fact, in 1964 when the GTO was introduced, it was merely an option package on the LeMans... like the ZO6 is an option package on the Corvette. Back in 1966, when GM had market share to spare, they built their cars large and rear wheel drive. This was before the age on emissions regulations, so this car is dirty. All right, all right, so it might be dirty in more ways than one! The car has been sitting in a garage, then a barn and back into a different garage for at least the last twelve years or so, and from the pictures, I am sure that you can tell. The good news is that the car is sound. The rust is all just on the surface; the floors and frame are very solid - which is the most important thing when you are considering putting an older vehicle back on the road.
Putting this vehicle back on the road is exactly what we are planning to do.
Click past the break to see what we have in store for this classic car!
The Peugeot 908 with the Audi R10 in the background
The battle of the diesels is only a couple of weeks away now at the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Peugeot 908 and Audi R10 met on the track for the first time last weekend during the pre-race test day. Until now the Audis have been running the American Le Mans Series and the Peugeot have done their training in the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe.
This opening round ended up with Peugeot on top, about 1.5 seconds faster than the second-place Audi. The other Audi came in third, followed by the Pascarolo and the second Peugeot with the fifth fastest time. The big question mark now is can the French cars run the distance at Le Mans. We already know what the Audis can do, but the 908 is still a question mark in that regard.
We have shown you the Peugeot 908 racecar a fewtimesnow, and even video of the machine on the racetrack. Now, we can show you the official livery of the vehicle. Interested? Check out the gallery, hosted over at Autoblog.
The reason that this vehicle is here on the green side of things is the diesel engine which powers it. Similar to the Audi R10 racecar, the hope is to take advantage of the fuel mileage benefits of the diesel engine over its petroleum-fueled competition. Audi did this to good effect last year, dominating the racetrack when it was on the grid. Peugeot hopes to do the same this year.
Two diesel powered racecars on the track this year, hydrogen powered racers, ethanol and hybrid powered rally cars. Maybe it's not so hard to be green after all?
Audi's Ingolstadt brand, which is providing the chauffeur service at the World Economic Forum (WEF), is running part of its Audi A8 fleet on emissions-friendly SynFuel diesel fuel. SynFuel, which is produced synthetically from natural gas, is crystal-clear and free of sulphur and aromatics. Particulates are reduced by 35 percent over regular diesel and carbon monoxide emissions are virtually erased via a massive 93 percent reduction. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are also slightly reduced.
SynFuel is a direct substitute for diesel and is being used in ten of the 80 Audi long-wheelbase quattro A8 TDI vehicles being used to chauffeur WEF participants around in. Remarkable for such huge cars, they use just 9.4 litres of diesel fuel per 100 kilometres / 25 mpg.
Audi has already stress-tested SynFuel at the Le Mans 24 Hour race last year when its all-conquering Audi R10 diesel racecar was filled with a special diesel fuel which consisted largely of SynFuel. This was the first time a diesel-powered racing car had won this significant motor-racing event.
Analysis: A diesel car running SynFuel is a remarkably low-emissions vehicle while still providing the power and performance that consumers demand in a modern motor. I'd be more than happy to drive around an A8 running it.
Audi, which has been winning races with their diesel powered R10 race car, has decided to attempt the next Le Mans race on biodiesel. Audi and VW are hoping that their racing successes will transition to additional knowledge on biofuel vehicles to be produced for public consumption.
The biofuel that they will be using is not exactly the same as the biodiesel that many home consumers are using, which in many cases is simply slightly refined restaurant grease. Audi is teaming up with Shell, a sponsor of the group creating the biomass-derived fuel, and team sponsor of Audi's racing efforts. The fuel is apparently a synthetic derivative of oils found in various plant life.
With Audi's recent successes with running diesel in the R10, and with competition coming soon from other manufacturers running diesel engines in their race vehicles it should be interesting to see how this pans out. Stay tuned!
Not just Audi is betting on diesel engines for its endurance racers. Peugeot decided to enter the Le Mans 24 Hours race with a car powered by a Hdi diesel engine equipped with a diesel particulate filter. More than 60% of all Peugeot-Citroen cars sold are equipped with diesel engines, and more than 70% of all cars sold in France are diesels. Peugeot was one of the first manufacturers to fit particulate filters as standard equipment on their diesel engines. The engine of choice will be a V12 engine with 5.5 liters in displacement, the maximum capacity the rules allow. The engine will produce more than 1200 Nm of torque.
.jpg)
