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Audi R15 TDI: Up close

Audi has gone all out to win Sebring and Le Mans in 2009, and has built the brand new R15 TDI to make sure it gets the job done. AUTOSPORT takes a closer look at the German marque's most radical prototype yet.

Gary Watkins Mar 19, 2009, 4:33 PM

Peugeot beware: Audi has gone to town on its new Le Mans 24 Hours challenger.

The R15 TDI is new in every area, from the weird-looking aerodynamics at the front, through its V10 turbodiesel engine, to the gearbox at the rear. That has to be bad news for anyone looking to usurp the German manufacturer as the undisputed King of La Sarthe. If it could win Le Mans last year with the ageing, even outmoded R10, then what chance for its rivals against this car?

The R15, which goes head to head with Peugeot's 908 HDi on its race debut in this weekend's Sebring 12 Hours, is variously described by the key players at Audi Sport as "a big step forward", "all-new in every respect" and "an entirely new concept".

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.