Audi has unveiled the new generation of the DTM Championship winning car at the Geneva Motor Show.
The 2014-specification Audi RS 5 DTM with its aerodynamics package having been redesigned in practically all areas looks clearly more aggressive and features visual details bearing an even closer resemblance to the sporty production models of the RS line than its predecessor.
The task that confronted Audi Sport after the 2013 season was a real challenge: how do you make a DTM championship winning car even better? Since the strict regulations in the touring car series allow little room for manoeuvre, the engineers concentrated extensively on detail work. The latest result was unveiled to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show. Noticeable at first glance: the new Audi RS 5 DTM appears significantly more aggressive. The reason for this is the near complete re-development of the aerodynamics.
The innovations along the flanks are also obvious: in order to make the airflow even more efficient along the outer skin, the exterior mirrors were integrated into the aerodynamic concept. The aerodynamics along the side between the front and rear wheels also reveals a new concept. The inner rear wheel arches are, in contrast to last year, closed and the rear part is now flat. Aicher: “The DTM rules are strict, which is why minute detail work is required within the tight limitations.”
Invisible from the outside, but crucial for the perfect set-up at each respective race track: the work invested under the carbon fibre skin enveloping the RS 5 DTM.
Audi contests two races against time year after year: one on the race tracks and the other in the Audi Sport offices in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Because when the DTM celebrates its season opener at Hockenheim in the spring, the engineers start working on the race car for the following year. The ‘RC3,’ as the 2014 version of the Audi RS 5 DTM is known internally, was thus born in May last year.
There are still two official tests in Budapest and at the Hockenheimring on the agenda before Mike Rockenfeller, with start number ‘1’, and his team-mates start the new season at Hockenheim on May, 4.
