The Le Mans General Discussion Thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter arvin charles
  • 10,290 comments
  • 683,707 views
Roger the Horse
Subaru really need to make an Impreza GTE car now.
Click to expand...
Imagine a beefier version of this:

2015-subaru-WRX-STI-nurburgring-race-car-09


:drool:
 
SagarisGTB
From what I gather, it looks like Nissan is building a one-trick pony. They might be competitive at LM, but they'll be backmarker duds everywhere else. Which is a real shame, as there's 42 hours of racing which almost certainly won't be enhanced by a another pair of competitive LMP1 entries.
Click to expand...

Much like Audi's E-tron, although in Audi's defense the car was actually fast enough to hold its own elsewhere, and reliable enough when it mattered to be successful despite not being the fastest.

The rumors of 2000hp and complete revolution on the LMP front sound, at this point, like complete vaporware.

If anything, from those spy shots, it looks like it's still in the early development stages with those unsculpted sides and whatnot... Which is not where a car should be mere months before the season starts, I believe. But then, I'm no engineer.
 
-Fred-
Much like Audi's E-tron, although in Audi's defense the car was actually fast enough to hold its own elsewhere, and reliable enough when it mattered to be successful despite not being the fastest.
Click to expand...
The 2014 Audi R18 itself isn't particularly well-suited to LM though, at least not anymore than it's rivals. The Audi lacked top speed and didn't have the optimal hybrid system to be any sort of LM ringer. They kept pace with the #7 Toyota because they had a very well optimized long-tail low-downforce package and very handy drivers. It's not like the Audis were lacking for pace before LM either as they were in the hunt at Silverstone (before they crashed) and they split the Toyotas on merit at Spa. The Audi R18 is incomparable to the Nissan.

Btw, the Audi wasn't more reliable than Toyota at LM this year. Both lead Audis lost multiple laps with turbo changes; outside of crash damage repair, the #8 Toyota ran flawlessly and the #7 ran equally well until a malfunctioning FIA sensor melted a wiring loom. I keep hearing this misconception, probably because it fits the more admirable narrative. Nobody wants to say Audi won because of luck, but they did.
 
Alex Wurz says this year's Toyota is making ~1100hp at full power on motorsport-total. 600hp from the petrol engine and 500hp from the hybrid. Mostly focusing on aero gains. From another story earlier this month, Pascal Vasselon said they would focus a lot of attention to underbody aerodynamics.
 
You also need to remember though the Audi wasn't running full power as they had to ditch one of thier ERS systems.

Don't be surprised if they build a car solely to win Le mans again
 
I expected white and red, but not white on red. Looks much nicer that way. 👍
 

Latest Posts

Back