2016 Audi R18 LMP1 World Endurance Championship Racer Revealed

This year’s World Endurance Championship has just concluded, with Porsche taking the Constructors’ Championship title and the pilots of the number 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid—Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber—taking the titles in the Drivers’ Championship.

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Audi, whose own drivers were just five points behind in the end, is determined to claw its way back to the winner’s circle and has already unveiled its challenger for next season. The new race car, which will once again compete in the premier LMP1 hybrid class of the WEC, is still classified as an R18 but is significantly enhanced compared to last year’s car (Audi’s first R18 was launched in 2011).

Audi says the 2016 R18 is the most powerful and efficient race car it’s ever built. Specific areas of enhancement include the new aerodynamic features, next-generation lightweight technologies and modified hybrid system that relies on lithium-ion batteries for storage of recaptured energy rather than a flywheel-based system. The car’s diesel engine, a turbocharged 4.0-liter V-6, has also been made more efficient.