Le Mans-inspired Audi hybrid supercar still a possibility

By Stephen Edelstein October 1, 2014

Over the years, racecars and road cars have grown apart, but there’s always plenty of temptation to bring them back together.

Audi previously mulled building a supercar based on its Le Mans-winning R18 e-tron quattro diesel-electric hybrid, and that project is again showing signs of life.

Sweden’s Auto Motor and Sport reports that a new supercar intended to sit above the R10 in the lineup is under development, and a test mule has even been driven by senior management.

However, the alleged hypercar won’t be an R18 with license plates. Dubbed R10, it will reportedly be as much about developing hardware that can be shared with fellow Volkswagen Group properties Bentley, Lamborghini, or Porsche as bringing Le Mans tech to the street.

Related: How tech from the Audi R18 e-tron quattro is coming to a garage near you

The R10 will be a hybrid, but instead of the racecar’s turbo-diesel six-cylinder engine, it could sport a 6.0-liter turbocharged gasoline V10.

That engine is expected to produce around 800 horsepower by itself, with total system output rising to over 1,000 hp with electric power factored in.

So the R10 would still have plenty of muscle to put up against the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, and to start a sibling rivalry with the Porsche 918 Spyder that would echo the on-track competition between the R18 and 919 Hybrid.

If Audi really goes through with this plan, the R10 won’t appear until 2016 at the earliest.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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