Audi says racing improves the clean diesel breed
click above for a high res gallery of the Audi R15 TDI
There's an old line that "racing improves the breed" that goes back to the origins of the industry. Indeed, many innovations developed on the race track have made their way back to road going cars including rear view mirrors and fuel injection. Someday, there might even be an innovation in NASCAR, but that's another story. Over the last two decades, Audi has been particularly active in motorsports, first in rallying- where its Quattro all wheel drive was spawned - and later on race tracks - where it debuted gasoline direct injection on the R8. Most recently, the R10 and the R15 have taken diesel technology to new heights with three consecutive wins at Le Mans.
Audi's now using that racing success to boost its first U.S. clean diesel vehicle, the Q7 TDI, which is finally going on sale about now. Last fall, in the cross country Mileage Marathon, the 50-state legal Q7s averaged about 29 mpg, far more than any of the big hybrid SUVs can manage. Yes, diesel contains more carbon than gasoline but the 30 percent improvement in efficiency far outweighs the extra carbon content and still yields about a 25 percent cut in CO2 emissions. While even clean diesels also produce more NOx than current gasoline engines, they are a huge improvement over they were and the particulate filters like those used on the race cars eliminate the soot.
Gallery: Audi R15 TDI
[Source: Audi]
Progress on Racetrack = Progress in Fuel Tank
* Clean diesel could play major role in achieving energy independence
* Race-proven TDI clean diesel technology to be sold in U.S. for first time this spring
* Next generation of clean diesel, R15 TDI, shatters track record in debut
HERNDON, Va., Mar 31, 2009 - From politicians to marketers, from oil companies to environmentalists. No matter who you speak to these days – it seems like everyone has an idea to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Wind turbines, energy-saving light bulbs, hybrid cars...the list goes on. The truth is – they all help in one way or another. But one solution is not just available in the here and now, it was formed and perfected on the race track. Imagine, forging the path to energy independence while driving 200 mph.
It sounds far-fetched. But it's true. The federal government estimates that converting one-third of the cars on the road to clean diesel – the fuel behind motorsports' most prolific race car – would allow the U.S. to send back every barrel of oil from a foreign supplier the size of Saudi Arabia.
Look at the list of winning vehicles at the world's most well-known endurance race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. You will see one car listed as the winner for the past three years running. That car is the Audi R10 TDI. The vehicle's dominance in Le Mans is common knowledge in the world of motorsports. It is a tradition that lives on in the Audi R15 TDI. Yet the race, and its significance, are lesser known here in the United States. However, Le Mans influence will soon be felt.
This year, Audi will literally take its winning racing formula and apply it to vehicles sold at dealers throughout the country starting this spring. For the first time, U.S. drivers will reap the benefits of the Audi racing team's not-so-secret weapon – TDI clean diesel.
In motorsports, a few seconds can separate winners from losers. Every race team is looking for ways to limit pit stops. Diesel engines make more efficient use of the energy released by their fuel than do gasoline engines. This fundamental principle of physics has been refined through many solutions that Audi has played a major role in developing – including the four-valve technology that ensures optimum filling of cylinders in every situation. The TDI engine compresses air to super-hot temperatures, so when the fuel is injected more of it instantaneously combusts making the whole engine far more efficient with every droplet.
Watching the drama unfold in the Le Mans documentary "Truth in 24" (www.truthin24.com), you can see the Audi TDI clean diesel engine's distinct advantage. The R10 TDI technology can drive further with fewer pit stops – even compared to other diesel engines.
The results can't be ignored. The Audi R10 TDI has never been beaten in the coveted 24 Hours endurance race of Le Mans. Upgraded to the Audi R15 TDI, the clean diesel results have been the same. This month, the R15 debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida achieving the fastest Sebring race ever, beating the previous distance record by 13 laps. Not only did the R15 run circles around the competition, the prototype racers won the Michelin Green X Challenge award for achieving greater higher efficiency than their competitors.
But what does this mean for U.S. drivers? Why should you care about a European endurance race? There answer is simple: The innovations on display at Le Mans will mean fewer stops at the fueling stations and more value for your dollars when you fill up your tank.
The same clean diesel technology, which allows Audi Le Mans drivers to go farther on a single tank, will now be available in Audi TDI vehicles sold in the United States - starting with the Audi Q7 TDI. The outstanding efficiency of Audi's TDI engines benefits the driver of a Q7 TDI both when it comes to saving money and when it comes to covering long distances: with its 26 gallon tank, the car can cover more than 600 miles on a single fill up – saving the cost, time and annoyance of extra stops at the filling station.
That's a big benefit for America and American households. Consider the 15,000 miles on average that an American family drives each year. Simple math suggests they're on the road more than 280 miles a week. With the range made possible by clean diesel's fuel efficiency, that average family will only need to stop at a filling station twice a month – even if they are driving a sizeable SUV.
Each month throughout 2009, Audi is highlighting specific symbols of progress by providing facts, photos, videos, and information about Audi innovation. Learn more about TDI and the Audi R10 by watching TDI in action at www.truthin24.com and get the facts about how TDI represents progress at the pump, progress in emissions, and progress on foreign oil at www.audiusanews.com.
ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA
Audi of America Inc. and its 270 dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. The Audi line up is one of the freshest in the industry with 23 models, including 12 models launched during model years 2008 and 2009. Audi is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. In selling one million vehicles worldwide in 2008, AUDI AG recorded its 13th consecutive record year for sales growth. Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 10:31AM (4/02/2009)
The Germans are kicking our asses again. Are we stupid or what? Are we still using pushrod engines? Have we gotten so complacent that that we are just going to line up for the ass kicking? Where are our American developed diesels? Doesn't it make you madder than hell that Europe is using superior technology that we can't even buy here?
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gorr 11:23AM (4/02/2009)
They lie, don't buy their products.
Clean diesel don't exist, it pollute at the extraction site, in transport and in refinery and in burning into the car. It all end-up into the biological biosphere that we live in. Most of the peoples will try to scrap and destroy the biosphere in any way they can to negate the religions that never succeeded in bringning sanity into the minds of peoples here on earth. Wall street traders, goverments, bloggers, etc are just cashing in money from the fews that still want to live into the biosphere for a while and are building depts, blocking green technologies and polluting to the maximum rate with the dirtiest methods invented. As of today 100% of the cars pollute while moving forward except genepax, d. dingel, s. mayer and h.a.w from japan and i don't speak about electrical generation, tractor-trailers, delivery trucks, airplanes, ships, agricol machineries, motorcycles, nascar racing, formula one racing, american lemans racing, general neiborhood racing, 1/4 mile acceleration racing, motorcycles racing, scooters errants, papers production and consumption, go-karts leisure parks, water skiing, vtt's, fisching boats, bic lighters, submarines, tanks, jet fighters, missiles, helicopters, freight trains, low and high speed passengers trains, chainsaws including electrics chainsaws connected to nuclear, natural gas or coals.
I said and i repeat to power the biosphere entirelly with water as it was before the invention of humans. Im sick and tires of the sicks and tires. If you don't know clean energy generation and consumption for the endless times to come then jusk ask gm or honda to provide it. If they don't know, then stop any expenditure for them.
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Kumar 11:40AM (4/02/2009)
Wild rants outstanding, hopefully this press prompts more manufacturers to bring Euro diesels stateside if they can manage to meet the CARB and EPA restrictions.
Was really hoping the A3 TDI would have 4motion....now it's just a GTD, so there's no reason to go VW instead of Subie when they bring their diesels next year.
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josh 2:19PM (4/02/2009)
"Someday, there might even be an innovation in NASCAR" - April fool's was yesterday dude...
@ jharlan - North America has far heavier emissions restrictions which rules out most diesels available in Europe. Cleaner diesils models are available but they generally don't sell well and European automakers aren't going to bring products across an ocean unless they know they'll sell well. The problem is in consumer mindset, not car manufacturers. There's also far heavier safety restrictions in NA, and redesigning cars for a better rating is extremely expensive.
@ gorr - wow. i'm not going to bother.
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Mark Tebbutt 11:32PM (4/02/2009)
live in the UK where I think 55% of new cars sales are diesels. I am still very skeptical about the particulate filter claims as I have seen many 2008 model diesels produce a cloud of black smoke when the driver puts the pedal to the metal. Diesel engines do achive better MPG but probably have a greater impact on health than petroleum (gas) engines.
Thus I always try to switch my cars air recirculation on until I can safely overtake (congestion permitting) any diesel powered vehicle in front me. I never suffered from hay fever until the age of 27 in 2001, which is around the time that diesel cars where becoming more popular in Europe. Having said that I would consider replacing my 2004 MK1 Audi TT with a high MPG diesel in the next couple of years if I cant buy a sub £35K BEV by then.
"Diesel particulate matter (DPM) is the visible cloud of blacksmoke on start-up and can be categorised into two groups;
PM10, which are particles of 2.5 microns to 10 microns, and PM2.5 are particles of less than 2.5 microns in size. Althoughmost Diesel particulates are very small, greater than 90% are inthe sub-micrometre range.
DPM has been identified by health experts as contributing to a variety of lung related illnesses, exposure has been linked with acute short-term symptoms such as headache, nausea, and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Long-term exposure can lead to chronic, more serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.
Inhalation The smallest particles have the worst health implications, because of their ability to penetrate deep into lung tissue. They easily bind with other toxins in the environment, increasing the hazards of particle inhalation."
http://www.gencat.co.uk/documents/Diesel%20Exhaust%20Soot.pdf
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