Le Mans from the boys

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

The big picture on this page is that of the Audi Le Mans quattro, a roadgoing concept and tribute to the R8, the race car with which Audi won three consecutive Le Mans 24-hour races.

The German carmaker launched the Le Mans amid much glitz and glamour at the Frankfurt motor show the other day. It unveiled the other two Audis pictured here, the all-wheel-drive V8-powered S4 and Allroad models, at the same time, but on country roads south of Auckland.

In Frankfurt, Audi said the Le Mans 24-hour race was a technological challenge, too, demanding endurance, reliability and perfect ergonomics in addition to the essentials of top performance and optimum driving dynamics.

"These are virtues - and technologies - that can be translated with great effect into a roadgoing sports car and which make the Audi Le Mans quattro as unique as its thrilling design: the genes of a winner."

The cab-forward concept - 1.90m (74.8in) wide, 4.37m (172in) long, 1.25m (49.2in) high, with a wheelbase of 2.65m (104.3in) - borrows styling cues from the Audi TT and Nuvolari GT study, especially around the front wings and arches for the 20-inch wheels. It also uses multimedia interface (MMI) technology from the flagship A8 saloon.

The two-seater Le Mans is an aluminium space frame construction with a bodyshell mix of aluminium and carbon-fibre. Gross weight is 1530kg.

It is powered by a mid-mounted, direct-injection, 5-litre twin-turbocharged V10 engine producing 449kW (610bhp) and 750Nm of torque between 1750rpm and 5800rpm.

Drive goes to all four wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox run by Formula One-type paddles behind the steering wheel. Suspension is double wishbones front and rear.

The Le Mans sprints from zero to 100km/h in 3.7sec and on to 200km/h in 10.3sec. Top speed is governed at 250km/h. Without the electronic gizmo it will do 345km/h.

The quattro all-wheel-drive system in the Le Mans has been adapted to suit the car's mid-engined layout.

Under normal conditions, drive from the V10 favours a rear-wheel bias, a 40:60 per cent split between the front and rear axles.

But depending on grip, it can be distributed continuously front and rear from 20:80 to 70:30 per cent.

One of the car's many other features that will trickle down to more mainstream Audi models is the LED headlights.

The light-emitting diodes sit behind clear glass and, says Audi, offer a tenfold reduction in power consumption and a much longer operating life than conventional bulbs.

They will also simplify the development of headlights that see around corners.

"LED technology uses no moving parts and the elements take up less room, says Audi. "By switching additional LED elements on and off electronically, the light beam can be varied in width and direction."

Inside, there are storage shelves and removable pouches behind the seats, and the front luggage compartment under the bonnet has a volume of 100 litres.

The instrument cluster is directly in front of the driver, behind the multi-functional steering wheel, the rim of which is flattened at the bottom.

The instrument clusters in the S4 and Allroad, two new additions to the Audi fleet in New Zealand, are directly in front of the driver, too. But they are monitoring the performance of a reworked 4.2-litre V8 engine and make more entertaining reading than those in the outgoing S4 and the two existing Allroads.

The previous S4 used a twin-turbocharged V6 engine. But Audi wanted the new S4 to have a V8. So it changed the timing chain arrangement of its existing V8 to shorten the overall length by 52mm to 464mm and shoehorned it into the S4's engine bay.

It also used magnesium components to reduce the V8's weight by about 5kg to that of the previous biturbo V6's 195kg.

The result is a free-spirited V8 with 253kW (344bhp) of power at 7000rpm and 410Nm of torque at 3500rpm. That's 58kW and 10Nm more than the V6 in the old S4.

The same V8 engine has gone into the town-and-country Allroad, although it has been detuned to produce 220kW (300bhp) and 380Nm. The new 4.2-litre Allroad costs $142,900 and joins two existing models, the 2.7-litre petrol V6 and five-cylinder diesel.

The S4 is available as a sedan and Avant (station wagon), both priced at $139,900 and equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. A new six-speed sequential Tiptronic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddles will arrive next month.

Like all quattro Audis, drive goes to all four wheels and a Torsen (torque-sensing) centre differential splits power between front and rear axles. Traction is hugely impressive, especially in the wet.

The S4 sits 20mm lower on its all-round independent suspension than the rest of the A4 range. Springs, dampers and anti-roll bars have been uprated to handle the extra power, and the steering ratios have been revised to reduce the number of turns lock-to-lock from 2.8 to 2.5.

On the smooth blacktop, the car's body control feels hunkered down and accurate. But over undulating surfaces it lurches roller-coaster-like as it struggles to keep its plus-1600kg weight under control.

One of Audi's strengths is its build quality. It's the best of all the Germans.