There'll be a very different sound at LeMans next June and it won't be the ear-splitting scream that emanates from most race cars. Audi will become the world's first automobile manufacturer to mount a serious effort for overall victory with a diesel engine at the world's most famous endurance race - the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With over 650 hp and massive torque, the V-12 diesel significantly exceeds the power produced by the majority of previous audi racing cars -- including that of its victorious R8 predecessor.

With all that torque coming at comparatively low revs the drivers will do less shifting and race fans will be treated to a deep-throated sound reminiscent of the pre-war Auto-Union Grand Prix cars. Interestingly, the Audi press release doesn't mention the superior fuel economy of a diesel engine, which could be the R10's major advantage in a long-distance endurance race.

Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars in the world," explained Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG. "The Le Mans project will help our technicians to extract even more from TDI technology. Nowadays, every second Audi is delivered with a TDI engine. We expect that the percentage of diesel engines will be even larger in the future."