The Audi RS5 DTM racecar due to compete in the European touring car series in 2013 has been revealed at the Geneva motor show.
Based on the road-going Audi RS5, the new DTM racer is an evolution of the 2012 car that has spent the winter with the Audi Sport DTM team while they identified if any of the car’s 4000 components could be even further optimised.
While a purpose built racecar, Audi’s head of motorsport, Wolfgang Ullrich, said the RS5 DTM and its namesake road car shared more than just a name.
“The performance data of the current RS5 and RS5 DTM are very similar.”
Member of the board for technical development at Audi, Wolfgang Durheimer, explained the German brand’s relationship between racing and road cars.
“Motorsport is an integral part of the Audi DNA and is not an end in itself for our company,” he said.
“At the end of the day, our customers benefit from the victories on the racetracks, because we attach great value to technology transfer between motorsport and production.”
Eight Audi RS5 DTM cars will be on the grid for the 2013 championship, with drivers from Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal all represented. All DTM cars are powered by V8 engines delivering about 368kW, with a maximum capacity restricted to 4.0 litres and a maximum of four valves per cylinder.
The 10-race 2013 DTM season kicks off at the Hockenheimring on May 5 before rounds in Austria, Great Britain and the Netherlands and the championship’s debut round in Russia on August 4 at the Moscow Raceway.
In Australia the 331kW/430Nm Audi RS5 production car starts from $161,400.
