Audi R18 e-tron quattro long-tail

Next month the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. For Audi Motorsport, the event will be an opportunity to both consolidate its position at the top of the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings and prepare for June’s Le Mans 24 Hours race.

Part of that groundwork is going to involve running a different version of the R18 e-tron quattro. While the two cars of Loïc Duval / Tom Kristensen / Allan McNish and Marcel Fässler / André Lotterer / Benoît Tréluyer are to remain standard, the third R18 of Marc Gené / Lucas di Grassi / Oliver Jarvis will be appearing in special ‘long-tail’ form.

Audi R18 e-tron quattro long-tail LMP1 2013 Front Side

As the name implies, the long-tail features lengthened rear bodywork that has been aerodynamically optimised for high-speed circuits such as Le Mans. The team intends to compare the two set-ups over different sections of the Spa track to properly assess any performance differences.

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Audi R18 e-tron quattro

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