The Audi Le Mans quattro is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

, developed by German automobile manufacturer

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

, for presentation at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, to celebrate Audi's three successive wins at the arduous

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

endurance race in 2000, 2001, and 2002. It was the third and final

in 2003, following the Pikes Peak quattro and the Nuvolari quattro. - Audi's subsidiary quattro GmbH subsequently decided to produce the Audi Le Mans Quattro as a production road car, calling it the R8, naming it after Audi's R8 LMP race car, which is notable for being one of the most successful cars in the history of the

with five overall wins.

Design and technical

The Audi Le Mans quattro has a number of high-technology features, including the

headlights A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...

composed entirely of

light-emitting diodes A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

(LEDs). The structural framework of the body, the Audi Space Frame, shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo, is made entirely of

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

, while the outer skin is made out of

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

and aluminium. The car also features an electronically controlled rear

spoiler Spoiler or Spoilers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Spoiler (media), something that reveals significant plot elements * The Spoiler, DC Comics superheroine Stephanie Brown Film and television * ''Spoiler'' (film), 1998 American ...

that raises at . The Le Mans quattro featured the magnetic ride magneto rheological dampers, also installed in the latest TT, which gives the car a firmer and more responsive drive and improved handling characteristics. In Audi tradition, the car features quattro permanent

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

to optimise traction and handling. The Le Mans quattro's and Gallardo’s engine (both were development of C6 RS 6’s engine) have the same displacement but using different cylinder heads and twin-turbochargers and

Fuel Stratified Injection Gasoline direct injection (GDI), also known as petrol direct injection (PDI), is a fuel injection system for internal combustion engines that run on gasoline (petrol) which injects fuel directly into the combustion chamber. This is distinct fro ...

technology, resulting in the high output of , and of torque. The transmission is the six-speed

automated manual transmission The automated manual transmission (AMT) is a type of transmission (mechanics), transmission for motor vehicles. It is essentially a conventional manual transmission equipped with automatic actuation to operate the clutch and/or shift Gear train ...

that was also shared with the Gallardo and developed by

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

The car showcased various Audi styling cues and technological details, planned to be used in future production Audi models.

Specifications and performance

*Power: *Torque: *Engine: 5.0 L DOHC twin-turbocharged TFSI V10 *0–100 km/h: 3.7 seconds *Top speed:

References

External links

Audi corporate website
* -
Picture gallery at worldcarfans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Mans Quattro Audi concept vehicles

Design and technical

Specifications and performance

See also

References

External links