- "Audi's history-making LMP1 car dominated the World Endurance Championship in the 2010s."
- ―In-game catch text for the car, from GT7's car collection
The Audi R18 '16 is a LMP1 race car produced by Audi. It appears in Gran Turismo Sport (as part of Update 1.06) and Gran Turismo 7.
Two R18s were entered in the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, the first (car #7) was driven by André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler, and Benoît Tréluyer, while the second (car #8) was driven by Oliver Jarvis, Lucas di Grassi, and Loïc Duval. The car finished respectively in 5th and 2nd in the Driver's Championship, while Audi finished in 2nd place at the Manufacturers' Championship. This was reflected in the car's name in GT Sport, Audi R18 (Audi Sport Team Joest) '16.
The car represented in the game is based on its appearance at the 2016 6 Hours of Bahrain, where the two R18s clinched a 1-2 finish, with car #7 and car #8 finishing the race respectively in 2nd and 1st place.
Colors[]
Two colors are available, with their only difference being their numbering:
Audi Sport Team Joest No.7- Audi Sport Team Joest No.8
Audi Sport Team Joest No.7In-game description[]
- "This was the Audi turned to when it sought to take the top prize at the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. This particular iteration of the R18 was a hybrid racer. It featured a mid-mounted turbocharged 4.0-liter diesel engine and high-powered electric motors at the front. The version here was raced by Audi Sport Team Joest. It took 2nd place in the Manufacturer's Championship in the 2016 season."
- ―In-game description of the car, from GT7's Brand Central
The Audi R18 is a LMP1 class race machine developed by Audi to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC).
The first appearance of the race machine dubbed the "R18" was in 2011. This later evolved into the "R18 ultra" in 2012, and the "R18 e-tron quattro" from 2013-2015, continually evolving over its years in competition. The Audi R18 is the successor to this series, but while it carries over the R18 name, this was a very different machine from the past iterations, developed from scratch.
First, the aerodyamics were greatly revised. The front center section looks like a very narrow version of the high nose section of an F1 machine. Between this and the left and right fenders there is a wing, also like that of a formula car. The shapes of the front and rear fenders were also changed, with positions and sizes of the wheel housing air outlets changed as well. This car had a very different style from that of the previous R18 e-tron quattro.
Another major difference is the engine. While still a 4L turbocharged diesel, the regenerative energy storage device was changed from an electric flywheel to a lithium-ion battery, and the amount of regenerative energy discharge was increased from 4MJ to 6MJ. The output of the front MGU was also greatly increased from 200 kW (268 BHP) to 350 kW (469 BHP).
In the 2016 World Endurance Championship Series, 2 cars were entered from Audi Sport Team Joest. The R18 raised constant good results by winning 2 races, placing 2nd in 5 races, and 3rd in 2 races. Ultimately they achieved a respectable 2nd place in the Constructors point rankings for the year. However Audi decided to withdraw from the World Endurance Championship Series from the end of this season.
Café Conversations (GT7)[]
Jeremy[]
Audi made its Le Mans debut in 1999. Until 2016, it competed in the LMP1 class, where it performed exceedingly well. In fact, it had podium finishes for eighteen consecutive years! But hear this—In the last year, the R18 lagged in fourth right up to the end of the race. People feared that Audi's long-standing place at the podium was about to be forfeited. But then, with ten minutes to go, a mechanical problem occurred in the leading Toyota challenger! This allowed the R18 to squeeze into third place and set its record of 18 consecutive podium finishes. Ultimately, the streak came to an end when Audi announced its withdrawal from Le Mans that year.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo Sport (  v1.06+) |
Audi Brand Central | 1,000,000 | --- |
| Gran Turismo 7 | Audi Brand Central | 1,000,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
- In GT Sport, this car was classified with an MR drivetrain, despite it having the e-tron quattro all-wheel drive hybrid system that is shared with every hybrid R18 since 2012. This was corrected in GT7.