Asia Bizz: Audi, German automotive giant will be launching the R18 for the Le Mans on the December 10 this year, and eventually the R15 will be retiring simultaneously. The news broke out by a company that is closely working with the Audi Le Mans team, Michelin. As the company is quite close to Audi it seems the news is also authentic.


Photo: QuattroWorld

The new R18 will be a closed cockpit variant for the Le Mans, not as the R15 which is an open cockpit vehicle. Audi on the other hand has been consistently refusing to suit itself with a closed cockpit vehicle for years, just as most of the vehicles in Le Mans are closed, Audi did not even budge.

Recently the physics and aerodynamic calculations had to be reran through the vehicle and it looked quite favourable. It was when the Peugeot beat Audi in the Le Mans 2009 with a closed cockpit, the company had to rush to the drawing board. What is now interesting to see is how will the new vehicle perform at the Le Mans, and does the closed cockpit do the trick for Audi.

Source: AutoBlog