Audi R18 TDI Le Mans Racer Gets Full LED Headlights

The German automaker keeps applying us the torture treatment when leaking info about its future contender for the LMP1 class. We so far know the R18 TDI will feature an ultra lightweight construction and an innovative mono-turbo engine technology. Now, it’s time for us to spread the word: the R18 TDI’s secret superpower is... full LED headlights.

The Audi R10 TDI was the first race car with LED daytime driving lights in 2006. The Audi R15 TDI from 2010 came equipped with a combination of Xenon headlights and LEDs. Now, the new LMP1 is the first Le Mans sports car with full LED headlights.

Combined with sophisticated reflector-lens modules, eight high-power light emitting diodes per side provide unique illumination of the race track at night. These LEDs however, are currently not registered for road use.

"When you’ve driven once with full LED headlights you don’t want to have anything else," said Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen. "The light is stronger and vibrates less than a normal headlight - this is a clear advantage and particularly at Le Mans, a track that has many dark braking points in the night."

Thanks to intensive development of the technology, full LED headlights now also represent a weight saving compared to common headlights, while also being maintenance free and extremely reliable. "The vulnerability to failures is extremely low," explains Martin Muhlmeier, Head of Technology at Audi Sport. "To date, we haven’t had a single LED failure."

Audi says the R18 TDI prototype’s main beam, which is comprised of five LEDs per side, is not brighter than the normal low beam. Three extra LEDs create the effect of a high beam by illuminating the track additionally through an individual position of the various reflectors.