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Audi to end its sports car program in Bahrain following 106 victories in 186 sports car races in 18 years Successful track record of technology transfer between race cars and production models Thanks go to FIA, WEC and ACO, and the strong competitors for a tremendous time Audi is ending an era. On Saturday, November 19, not only the current season of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will end in Bahrain but also Audi ceasing its Le Mans sports prototype program after 18 years. Audi’s sports prototypes, from the Audi R8, the Audi R10 TDI and the Audi R15 TDI to the Audi R18, have shaped an entire racing era. They represent one of Audi Sport’s most successful periods and are symbols of the technical progress achieved by the brand with the four rings. “The event in Bahrain will no doubt be a very emotional farewell for all of us,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. The Austrian, who has been in charge of Audi’s motorsport activities since the end of 1993, has decisively shaped the brand’s sports car commitment. In 1999, the LMP race cars competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring for the first time, to date having clinched nine titles in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), three in various European Le Mans series, plus two drivers’ and two manufacturers’ world championship titles in the FIA WEC. No less than 106 winners’ trophies are displayed in the showcases of AUDI AG and its teams, including 13 for victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours. A historically unique success is Audi’s “triple,” in other words three victories in succession, allowing the brand to keep the trophy. “What this program means to the brand is hard to express in words,” says Dr. Ullrich. “To this day, the various rally models of the Audi quattro, with which everything began in 1981, have kept a special place in the hearts of the audience.

Audi takes one-two win in world’s most important endurance race 13th success for Audi in 16 runs at Le Mans In front of nearly 300,000 spectators, Audi continued its unique string of victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours. In the 82nd running of the world’s most important endurance race, Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) and Lucas di Grassi/Marc Gené/Tom Kristensen (BR/E/DK) made for a one-two Audi victory. It marked the 13th Le Mans success for the brand with the four rings in only 16 runs – and may have been the most valuable one to date, as Audi Sport Team Joest prevailed against massive competition by Le Mans returnee Porsche and Toyota in an extremely tough race that was completely open for a long time. The decision in favor of the two Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars was only made in the final phase. “The new Le Mans regulations place an even greater focus on the efficiency of the race cars at Le Mans than before,” said Professor Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, who as Board Member for Technical Development is responsible for the motorsport program of AUDI AG. “In the TDI, the world’s most efficient drive technology has prevailed at Le Mans yet again. At the same time, with our successful first use of the laser light, we continued our string of technological pioneering achievements at Le Mans. I’d like to thank everybody who has worked extremely hard for this success, above all of course the Audi Sport squad.” For Audi, the Le Mans 24 Hours was billed as ‘Welcome Challenges’ – and there were plenty of them in the 82nd running of the famous endurance race for the brand with the four rings. Following a serious accident of Loïc Duval in Wednesday’s free practice, Audi Sport Team Joest had to prepare the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro in record time again from scratch and to replace Loïc Duval with Marc Gené. That this team was on course for victory on Sunday morning says everything about the feat performed by the mechanics.

Audi RS Q e-tron wins toughest desert rally with innovative drive system Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz achieve fourth personal victory Gernot Döllner: “Audi has once again set a milestone” Audi makes history: for the first time, a low-emission prototype with an electric drive, high-voltage battery and energy converter wins the world’s toughest desert rally with the Audi RS Q e-tron. The Spaniards Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz secured Audi’s first victory in the Dakar Rally after around 7,900 kilometers with a lead of 1h 20min. Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist also crossed the finish line. “Congratulations to Team Audi Sport on winning the Dakar Rally,” said Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “Audi has once again set a milestone in motorsport. Winning the world’s toughest desert rally with an electrified drive is a visible ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ and points the way to our electric future.” The Audi RS Q e-tron has electric all-wheel drive. The energy supply is ensured by a high-voltage battery and an energy converter that runs on residual fuel-based reFuel, thus saving 60 percent of CO₂ emissions compared to conventional fuels. “With our revolutionary electrified drive, we have overcome one of the biggest challenges in motorsport after just three years. We are thus continuing a long series of pioneering achievements that have always characterized Audi in four decades of motorsport. I would like to thank the entire team for this outstanding performance in a particularly tough edition of the Dakar Rally,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, Technical Development. At the Dakar Rally, Audi was up against the two brands Toyota and Ford as well as the experienced opponents from Prodrive, who proved to be tough challengers. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz secured their big lead after having been in the lead without interruption since the sixth stage.

Expressive appearance guarantees high recognition value for the flagship in Audi’s SUV range Individualization of headlights and rear lights through digitalization Equipment range with new exterior colors, wheels, and decorative inlays underscores dynamically elegant look Audi is updating the flagship of the Q family with a pure design and upgraded technology. The revised exterior aesthetic with new front and rear aprons underscores the strong character of the SUV coupé. The optionally available S line exterior package caters to customers who desire more sportiness. For the first time, Audi is equipping the Q8 with HD Matrix LED headlights, including a laser as an additional high beam. These headlights feature digital daytime running lights and selectable light signatures. Digital OLED rear lights with four selectable rear light designs complete the expanded light offering. New wheels, colors, decorative inlays, and seats with contrast stitching highlight the car’s top position among the Q models. The new Audi Q8 starts at 86,700 euros. Revised, generous, striking: the exterior design With its expressive design, the revised Q8 is a sporty, elegant SUV coupé from the brand with the four rings. With its clean shape, generous surfaces, and clear volumes, the Q8 paints a dynamic picture. The short overhangs and long wheelbase make for sporty, elegant proportions that can be accentuated with distinctive exterior colors and wheels. The unmistakably powerful and upright Audi Singleframe with an octagon design now impresses with vertical inlays. They are arranged in teardrop shape in the base exterior and designed in the shape of an L in the S line exterior package and the SQ8 TFSI.

Audi with over 80-percent win rate at Le Mans Audi’s hybrid technology unbeaten at Le Mans 263,300 spectators attend the greatest endurance race The current Audi R18 e-tron quattro on clinching its Le Mans victory consumed 22 percent less fuel than its predecessor in 2013. With that, Audi has again raised the benchmark. The regulations allow the Audi R18 e-tron quattro to use clearly less fuel than last year. Audi saved energy through the use of ultra technologies such as optimized aerodynamics, 45 kilograms less weight of the race car, a newly developed 4-liter V6 TDI engine, an optimized hybrid system and a new driveline. In total, Audi’s victorious hybrid sports car designated as car number 2 used 22 percent less fuel per 100 kilometers than the 2013 R18 e-tron quattro. Ever since the TDI era began in racing in 2006 this has resulted in a 38-percent consumption reduction. After LED headlights with matrix beam technology had made their way from the Audi R18 e-tron quattro into production cars a year ago, the new Audi laser light is the most recent innovation that has been tested at Le Mans and will now initially be available to customers in a special model. With 13 victories in 16 events Audi has increased its Le Mans success rate to 81.25 percent. No other automobile manufacturer in the history of the race that has been held since 1923 has clinched such a large number of winners’ trophies in such a short time. Porsche – with a tally of 16 victories – remains the historic record holder. These wins are spread across the period between 1970 and today. In addition to the winners’ trophy of the organizer, Audi, as the most efficient participant, won the Michelin Total Performance Award in the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours. Car #2 ranks in front of the #1 sister car in the tire manufacturer’s classification.

... the DRC chassis (Dynamic Ride Control) originated in the first generation (C5) and is still used today in the current generation (C8) with the same functional principle? ... the wide construction of the RS 6 requires modified tanks and longer tank piping? Refueling during the prototype drives in the development phase always brings a smile due to the noise of the air known as “tank mooing”. Thanks to further tank piping optimization, this noise is naturally switched off in series production. ... the current C8 generation of the RS 6 only has three exterior carryover parts from the basic model? Specifically, they are the roof, the two front doors, and the tailgate. ... the engine in the C6 generation of the RS 6 took up so much space in the front that we moved the cooling water reservoir to an unusual position?