Auto racing
Audi has competed in (and sometimes dominated) numerous forms of auto racing. Audi's rich tradition in motorsport began with the Auto Union in the 1930s. In the 1990s Audi dominated the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing Stateside.
Rallying
In 1980 Audi released the Quattro, an all wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of all-wheel-drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was an instant success, winning its first rally on its first outing. It won competition after competition for the next two years.
In 1984 Audi launched the "Sport Quattro" car which dominated races in Monte Carlo and Sweden with Audi taking all podium finishes but succumbed to problems further into World Rally Championship contention. After another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1 and helped place Audi second in the manufacturer's points. Audi also received rally honors in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the first female WRC driver to win a championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the S1 and raced in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The climb race pits a driver and car to drive up a 4,302 meter high mountain in Colorado and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39 and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following the death in Portugal of driver Joaquim Santos in his RS200. Joaquim Santos avoided hitting spectators on one side of the road, and ended up hitting spectators on the other side. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22. In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 he retired from the WRC in 2 years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW). The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, Michèle Mouton. The Audi S1 enjoys a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.3 s. This Audi S1 started the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an increased level of sports options and quality to the Audi line up.
Touring cars
In 1995 Audi was barred from entering its Audi A4 Quattro into the British Touring Car Championships because of its domination on the series. The Quattro (four-wheel drive) system was banned because Audi was unbeatable in the competition.
In 2004 Audi returned to touring car racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing A4s in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series. In the US, Champion Audi racing entered an Audi RS6 in the 2003 speedvision GT challenge, competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller, more agile BMWs. But once again, the Quattro was too superior and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Cadillac, gave them a run for their money. After 4 victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that affected deeply the car's performance, however Champion Audi still managed to win the 2004 championship.
Sports car racing
Beginning in 1999, Audi built the Audi R8 to compete in sports car racing, including the LMP900 class at the 24 hours of Le Mans. The factory supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans three times in a row (2000 - 2002), as well as winning every race in the American Le Mans Series in its first year. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing. In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Audi and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow VW company, competed in the GTP class and finished the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Racing R8 finished third overall and first in the LMP900 class. Audi returned to the winner's circle at the 2004 race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx second, and Champion Racing third.
At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. The R8s (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a more narrow air inlet restrictor, cutting power, and an additional 50 kg of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis. On average, the R8s were about 2-3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo-Judd. But with a team of excellent drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take first and third while the ORECA team took fourth. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GT's in 1967. This also ends the long era of the R8, however its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10, was unveiled on December 13, 2005. the R10 employs many new features, including a twin-turbocharged diesel engine. Its first race will likely be the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Technology
Audi is the only car manufacturer that produces 100% galvanized vehicles to prevent corrosion. An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Audi, and in 1997 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space frame technology. Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-nineties and continues to pursue leading-edge technology and high performance.
The all-aluminium concept was extended to the company's new sub-compact, the Audi A2 which was launched in 2001.
In the 1970's, some vehicle manufacturers including Audi (and Subaru) designed their own all wheel drive systems in passenger vehicles. In the 1980's, all-wheel drive systems in cars became a fad, and other manufacturers like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offered all-wheel drive systems in their cars to compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the all-wheel drive system in the Mercedes-Benz vehicles were riddled with problems right from the design sheet. The system also was not popular in Porsche vehicles because owners wanted the traditional performance of the rear wheel drive they got used to in older Porsches. Although Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offer all-wheel drive systems in some cars today, neither manufacturer was able to ride the fad and come out on top like Audi has. Today, after many decades of class-leading technology and engineering, the name quattro is an identifiable symbol and trademark that shows would-be competitors the level of quality they have to achieve in order to attempt to compete with Audi.
In the 1980s, Audi was the champion of the inline 5 cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine as a longer lasting alternative to more traditional 6 cylinder engines. This engine was used in not only production cars but also their race cars. The 2.1 L inline 5 cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the 1980's, providing well over 400 horsepower (298 kW) after modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity was a good combination of good fuel economy which was on the mind of every motorist in the 1980's, and a good amount of power the customer wants. Through the early 1990's, Audi began to move more towards the position of being a real competitor in it's target market against Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorprated in the bonnet.
By 1991, Audi had the 4 cylinder Audi 80, the 5 cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupe version of the 80/90 with both 4 and 5 cylinder engines.
Although the five cylinder engine was a successful and very robust powerplant, it was still a little too different for the target market. With the introduction of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8l V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of 4, 5 and 6 cylinder engines, in sedan, coupe and cabriolet body styles.
The 5 cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice, however a turbocharged 230BHP (169kW) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupe and named the S2 and also to the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the mass produced S series of performance cars.
The Audi A8 replaced the V8 in 1994, with a revolutionary Aluminium Space Frame (ASF) to save weight. The weight reduction was offset by the quattro all-wheel drive system, however it meant the car had similar performance to it's rivals, but far superior handling.
The next major model change was in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along the way. A new A3 (based on the Volkswagen Golf) was introduced to the range in 1997, and the radical TT coupe and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings. Another interesting model introduced was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, the Audi A2. The model sold relatively well in Europe, however Audi decided not to develop a new model and it has since been discontinued as of 2004.
The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L 4 cylinder, 1.8 turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged 5 cylinder and the 4.2 L V8. The V6's were replaced by new 2.4 and 2.8 L 30V V6's in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12 for the A8.
At the turn of the century, Audi introduced the direct shift gearbox (DSG), a manual transmission driveable like an automatic transmission. The system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter. This is implemented in some Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and TT models. The engine range was continually upgraded, with a 2.7 L twin turbo V6 being offered in the Audi S4, A6 and allroad, the 2.8 L V6 was replaced by a 3.0 L unit.
New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the 1.8 L engine now 2.0 L and the 3.0 L V6 is now 3.1 L in size. Audi has now introduced FSI on some of their engines, including the 1.6 L 4 cylinder, a new 2.0 L (Audi was the first manufacturer in the world to utilize a turbo charger and FSI on the same powerplant), and the 3.1 L V6. This is a direct fuel-injection technique that Audi had also used on its diesel engines since the early 1980s.
As a premium member of the VW Group, technologies are frequently first introduced to the mass market with Audi vehicles before being 'trickled down' to more value oriented brands such as VW, SEAT and Škoda. Recent examples of this include DSG and FSI.
Audi now has an impressive range of cars, engines and transmissions available, which continue to lead the way and introduce new technologies into the market.
