Own Any Track Day: Audi R18 TDI Ultra for Sale
This Audi R18 TDI Ultra is the chance to make all your Le Mans fantasies come true — provided you’ve got the cash.
Of all the people in the entire world, there aren’t too many who’d be able to wring all the potential out of a purebred racing machine like the Audi R18 TDI Ultra. But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be one whole hell of a lot of fun to try, and if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have inquire about price, a rare opportunity just popped up to indulge you’re wildest Le Mans fantasies.
Because while this example for sale over on Art & Revs never actually raced at the legendarily grueling 24-hour French challenge, it’s nearly identical to the version which arose victorious in the 2011 running of the race.
Unfortunately, as two of the cars Audi campaigned that year were wrecked during the competition, that makes this R18 one of just six surviving versions of the world-beating whistling diesel. Under the rear shroud, there’s a 3.7-liter mill force fed by a Garrett TR30R turbocharger, which makes an Intercontinental Le Mans Cup regulation-appropriate 532 horsepower.
In the pictures, the glorious unit looks far more like something you’d expect to see on spacecraft than a car engine. And for what it’s worth? When it comes to tech and materials, the kit that took us to the moon wasn’t anywhere near this advanced.
As you might imagine, the bespoke and race-focused nature of this car means there’s a little more to getting it on the track than just hitting the start button and turning onto pit lane. But according to the listing, the engine and all the peripheral systems were rebuilt to factory spec by Audi Sport back in 2018. So for the right people — meaning highly trained Audi Sport engineers — getting it back into running condition shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge. And if you’re in a position to buy this car?Putting a tech on the payroll is a non-issue.
Before opting out of Le Mans in 2016, Audi Sport won the 24 Hours of Le Mans a whopping 13 times, which is phenomenally impressive.
Personally, as someone who got to see similar cars campaign during the American Le Mans series of the late 2000s, one of the most striking things about cars wearing the Four Rings was just how quiet they were in comparison to some of the other weapons-grade machines on the gird. While you could literally feel the GT1 Corvettes coming before you could see them, the LMP1 Audis kind of whirled by, and sounded more like George Jetson’s car than anything else.
Stay tuned for news on the Audi’s upcoming foray into the World Endurance Championship, where it will campaign for supremacy in the new LMDh category, facing off against machines from McLaren, Ford, Lexus, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. In 2022, it’s going to be a whole new world at Le Mans — and I can’t wait.
Photos: Art & Revs
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