Audi A4 DTM 2010 MediaInfo - Audi USA News

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Audi A4 DTM (R14 plus)
longer any need to create a new generation of vehicles
(usually four) every season. Mattias Ekström, Martin
Tomczyk, Markus Winkelhock and Alexandre Prémat will all
be using the same racing cars as in 2009. Mike Rockenfeller
will take to the wheel of Oliver Jarvis’s former car, while
Oliver Jarvis inherits Tom Kristensen’s car. DTM newcomer
Miguel Molina will drive the A4 used by Katherine Legge
from Great Britain last year, as she takes control of the
vehicle vacated by Mike Rockenfeller. Defending champion
Timo Scheider will drive an A4 DTM with the chassis number
R14 plus 606.
Sizeable savings are also being achieved in the field of
engine construction, as two vehicles will once again share a
maximum of three engines between them for the duration
of the season. Audi will tackle the 2010 season with
reworked versions of the approximately 340-kilowatt V8
engine, as long as this fits in with the engines’ respective
maintenance schedules. Consequently, no entirely new
engines are being built this year. This all ultimately means
that the fans will see the same attractive racing cars as last
year while the development budget is markedly relieved.
With two consecutive wins, the R14
and R14 plus model generations
of the Audi A4 DTM are currently
unbeaten in the DTM
Audi is anticipating major savings potential for the 2010
season as a whole, with a reduction of up to 30 per cent
in the cost of fielding the nine Audi A4 DTM (not including
accident-related repair costs).
The development freeze marks a hiatus in an impressive
development process which has seen Audi achieve some
major improvements in efficiency between the first
generation of the Audi A4 DTM – the R11 in 2004 – and the
most recent R14 plus. For example, the basic vehicle weight
not including ballast weight has been reduced by more
than 20 per cent, while the torsional rigidity has remained
unchanged. The vehicle’s centre of gravity has been lowered
by more than 10 per cent and the aerodynamic efficiency –
the ratio of drag to downforce – has been improved by the
developers by more than 20 per cent. The Audi A4 DTM has
never been more efficient.
The tubular frame is made of steel, while the cockpit and
various bodywork parts are made of carbon fibre