How do you replace one of the most successful racecars ever? With a diesel. No, seriously.

By Steven Cole Smith Email

Date posted: 02-20-2006

Like a poorly dubbed Japanese monster movie, the sound just doesn't sync with what you're seeing. The brand-new Audi R10 racecar streaks by, and instead of the urgent exhaust note of the now retired R8, the R10 just sounds…odd. A low, but authoritative, rumble, not unpleasant at all. And certainly not what we were expecting. No smoke, no smell.

After all, the R10 is powered by a 5.5-liter twin-turbodiesel, which Audi's press materials describe as "extremely economical." On fuel, perhaps, but no one will speak on the record about how economical it was for Audi to develop an all-new diesel engine to place in an all-new racecar, with which the company fully intends to win not only the 12 Hours of Sebring, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

While the R10 has tested privately in Europe, the three-day second annual American Le Mans Series Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway in Florida was its official coming-out party. With the exception of the drivers — Italian Rinaldo Capello and German Frank Biela — the Audi personnel on-site seemed almost resentful of even the limited media attention.

When not on the track, the R10 was hustled into enclosed pits with the curtain drawn, ostensibly to keep prying eyes from — what? Building their own turbocharged 650-horsepower aluminum V12 diesel? "They're just being German," one journalist said.

Looks and personality
So how did the R10 do? Typically German, too — it already seems as well sorted and fully realized as most cars are after three years of on-track development. It's gorgeous, with a slight Batmobile quality, shimmering on pit lane with jewellike LEDs front and rear. The entire dashboard is built into the steering wheel, easily replaceable.

And it's fast. Capello's best time of 1:47.308 was the best of any car at the test, soundly beating the official track record set in 2002, and less than a second slower than the R8's best time at Sebring, set during a tire test last winter. The car "feels like an Audi," Capello says, except with way more torque.

Why a new R10, and why a diesel? Because ALMS rules, mirroring those at Le Mans, made the R8 obsolete last year, so regardless of power plant, Audi had to build a new car. As for the diesel, Le Mans rules for 2006 and beyond favor the engine. Le Mans is in Europe, where "70 percent of the market is diesel," Capello says. "To you in America, a diesel racecar seems strange, but to us in Europe, not so strange."

Quick but quiet
Well, strange in one sense: The diesel, quieted by a massive exhaust system, is so silent that Capello and Biela said they miss the auditory feedback of the R8. "We're addressing that," says Brad Kettler, crew chief of the Florida-based Champion Audi R8 team that won Le Mans last year, "probably with some additional electronics in the cockpit. But the drivers say they are already getting used to the sound." Kettler was in Sebring "to observe," he says, as Champion is backing up the European near-factory Joest team, which will spearhead Sebring and Le Mans efforts for this year.

While the Audi was the big news at the test, it wasn't the only news: The Penske-led Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 car was there — "car" singular, as the second car wasn't ready. While the brand-new Audi had a few teething problems — some suspension issues, a bad electronic cable, a flat tire — the Porsche lost an engine and had a cockpit fire. Even so, this is a very fast car, fully capable of some overall wins this year, beating the LMP1 cars.

Lucas Luhr managed a best time of 1:49.93, a tenth of a second slower than the 2005 12 Hours of Sebring fast qualifier, J.J. Lehto in an Audi R8. But the official line remains: No 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Porsche in 2006. Porsche insists the company is building the Spyder to sell to customers first and to race second, but we'll see.

Also in attendance was the brand-new Lola B06/10-AER car fielded by Dyson Racing. The new Lola chassis and new AER engine arrived at Sebring in a semicomplete state, and Chris Dyson said the car's final assembly took place in the Skip Barber school's garage at the track. Regardless, driver James Weaver was quick, running some 1:50s.

Also fast was Andy Wallace in the Highcroft Racing Lola EX257-AER, running last year's Dyson Racing equipment. Also rumored is a new Aston Martin team that may or may not be ready for Sebring. Regardless, this will be a race well worth your attention, if for no other reason than to watch the historic debut of a pair of very fast diesel racecars.