Racers visit Audi of America
The racing drivers representing Audi customer teams visited the Audi of America headquarters in Herndon on the way to their next events. Racing drivers Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke, currently second in the GTD classification standings of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, travelled with Paul Miller Racing to Virginia. In addition to their Audi R8 LMS machines, there was also an R8 LMS from team C360R at the headquarters. The Audi of America employees could also admire exhibits from Audi’s motorsport history, including the Audi R8 and Audi R10 TDI LMP racecars. Moderator John Hindhaugh hosted proceedings in the presence of IMSA President Scott Atherton, President of Audi of America Scott Keogh, as well as key personnel responsible for the motorsport program Tristan Herbert, Andy Sattler and Brad Kettler.
A word from ... Tom Kristensen
It was fantastic to win the 12-hour race with the Audi R8, R10 TDI, R15 TDI and the R18 TDI when they made their race debuts at Sebring. I hope that the circuit retains its classic character with the bumps and blind corners for many years to come. This is why we drivers love the track so much. The officials had another surprise in store for you... Correct! While the inclusion of new members into the Hall of Fame was announced some time ago, renaming Turn 3 into ‘Kristensen Corner’ was a real surprise. I really didn’t expect it. Many thanks to the official at the Sebring International Raceway. During this weekend you delved deep into the history and were allowed to drive one of your former race winning cars. What did you think? I returned again in an Audi R8. It was a fantastic feeling to drive Audi’s most successful LMP sportscar again in front of such a huge crowd – ‘Kristensen Corner’ in particular was great fun. I have fond memories of the race eleven years ago when at that time JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and I together with Frank Biela, Allan McNish, Emanuele Pirro and the Champion Racing squad clinched a one-two. That was the last victory for the R8 at Sebring. After spending so many years as racing driver at Sebring, you could enjoy the event as visitor. Your impressions? You could feel the enthusiasm of the fans throughout the entire weekend. It goes without saying that I didn’t waste the opportunity to visit the traditional spectating points around the track and to meet the public. I also visited the Audi Turn 1 Club, gave a lot of interviews, signed autographs and gave my guests on the passenger seat a feel for the circuit while lapping at speed in an Audi. One of my co-drivers was the well-known American motor racing team boss Chip Ganassi who won the ride at a charity event. It really was a wonderful weekend.
Audi e-tron Spyder
Paris - Audi presents the Audi e-tron Spyder, the study of an open sports car, at the fall 2010’s largest auto show. The show car, with plug-in hybrid drive, is 4.06 meters (13.32 ft) long, 1.81 meters (5.94 ft) wide and only 1.11 meters (3.64 ft) high. The two-seater is equipped with a 221-kW (300-hp) twin-turbo V6 TDI at the rear axle and two electric motors producing a total of 64 kW at the front axle.
The Audi e-tron Spyder’s low total weight of only around 1,450 kilograms (3,196.70 lb) combined with the high-torque TDI and the two electric motors results in respectable performance. The car accelerates to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in just 4.4 seconds, and top speed is electronically governed at 250 km/h (155.34 mph). The e-tron Spyder can combine the powerful torque of its TDI – the diesel engine generates 650 Nm (479.42 lb-ft) and the total of 352 Nm (259.62 lb-ft) of its two electric motors during acceleration in a process known as “boosting.” The intelligent distribution of power allows for optimal dynamics in every situation. The targeted application of power to the front wheels improves longitudinal dynamics while also improving lateral dynamics when cornering. This is because torque vectoring – the as-needed distribution of torque between the left and right wheels of the two axles – enables an exhilarating degree of driving precision and excellent agility. Thanks also to its low weight, short wheelbase and perfect 50:50 weight distribution for dynamic handling, the Audi e-tron Spyder has all the drivability of a go-kart – good on bends and neutral right up to the very high handling limit. The combination of a highly efficient TDI and electric drive also provides for excellent fuel economy and amazingly low emissions. The Audi e-tron Spyder requires on average just 2.2l diesel/100 km (106.92 US mpg), corresponding to CO2 emissions of 59 g/km (94.95 g/mile). A range of more than 1,000 kilometers is possible with the 50-liter (13.21 US gallons) tank.