Buy This Ready-To-Race Audi R18 TDI and Pretend You’re a Le Mans Hero
Fully functioning, turbo diesel powered, non-hybrid, and Le Mans winning pedigree. This 2011 Audi R18 TDI Ultra might be the ultimate track day toy.
In the world of track days, many of us track our everyday cars or our weekend cars. A lucky few can get a dedicated track car like a Radical or a junior formula car. But for the final few lunatics who won’t be satiated by all of the above, there is this actual race-ready 2011 Audi R18 TDI Le Mans car for sale.
No, that wasn’t a typo. It is a real Le Mans-spec Audi R18 TDI Ultra, a non-hybrid diesel 2011 car. It is one of only eight cars built, with only six left in existence. This is chassis number 100, the only one that was not torn apart to become a later spec R18 E-Tron Quattro or not crashed by Loïc Duval. It survived in its original form since 2011, never raced and used as a backup car. It was shortly converted to look like a 2013 E-Tron Quattro but was taken to Audi Sport for restoration to full 2011 spec. It's actually been for sale for a while, at least two years, but with no price listed. Maybe it's a bit more of a bargain now.
According to the seller, it is fully functional, with the original ECU programming still in place. It is as close to being a true 2011 race car as possible and was fully overhauled with fresh parts from Audi Sport. The engine and gearbox have zero miles on them, and they’re rated for 6,200 miles and 4,300 miles respectively. An interesting detail is all of the fittings used for fluid connections. Instead of threaded AN, the R18 uses an ultra-reliable double O-ring fitting.
It’s also a chance to own a seriously significant car in Audi’s motorsport history. It’s from one of the most dominant runs in endurance racing history, with five consecutive Le Mans wins from 2010 to 2014. It’s also from a golden era of Le Mans prototype racing, with that weird single-turbo V6 diesel engine that sipped fuel and propelled Audi to dominance.
It doesn’t qualify for any racing series that I know of, but it would make a hell of a billionaire’s track day toy.
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