As we wind down our Volkswagen Group features I thought it would be a good idea to pay a homage to Audi's winged warriors; their modern DTM race cars
The modern era of DTM was relaunched in 2000 and is comprised of some of the most extreme looking race cars on the planet.
The first Audi efforts in the DTM were from the privateer team Abt Sportsline with a stretched wheelbase TT. They managed to take the 2002 Championship with Laurent Aïello driving. If you study the image closely you'll see that the DTM was relaunched with 2 door coupes as the basis of the series.
Audi entered the DTM as a factory effort in 2004 with the A4. By this time the three factories agreed to switch body types to feature four door saloon models in true touring car fashion.
2004 proved to be fruitful year for Audi as they took both the manufacturers and drivers titles with Mattias Ekström.
Another feature off the 2004 season was a street race in Shanghai. It was only used once though…. the series has not returned since.
2005 saw the introduction of the new Audi Corporate face on the A4… I remember the race commentators didn't like the look of the car at the time, but IMO it has stood the test of time reasonably well.
2005 also had a round of the DTM at the Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. This was the scene of Mika Hakkinen's first DTM victory. Here he leads the field through Eau Rouge… I guess the Audi squad was having a bad moment that day….
Here is a rear view of the 2006 spec Audi… You can see that the signature rear flip-ups are in full effect….
I'm amazed at how far Audi has pushed their headlight design in recent years. This shot is from Brand Hatch 2007, but already the race-spec headlights looked dated.
Compare to the latest generation A4 from 2008, also at Brands Hatch…. Audi has really pushed headlight design into the future.
Did you know that the chassis code designation for the 2008 DTM A4 is "R14"? It is this car which really pushed the boundaries of GT and Touring car aerodynamics. Look at how the rear door has been cut up to aid the air exiting the underside of the car. I've never seen anything like this anywhere previously….
Looking at the 2009 spec machine we can see the rear of the car has also been opened up compared to the 2006 model. When I see how radical this car looks, I wonder what these cars will look like in a few years!
These DTM cars surely spend a huge amount of time in the wind tunnel….
A nice close up shot of the rear flip ups… I'm still waiting for a time attack car to copy this style.
A rare shot of the cockpit…. This looks more like an F1 car than anything else!
The driver is located in the middle of the wheelbase to optimize weight distribution.
An opening shot from DTM 2009 Round 1 at Hockenheim shows the Audis currently enjoy a slight advantage over their Mercedes rivals.
The round 1 winner was Tom Kristensen, who took victory after Mattias Ekström suffered a puncture and had to slow.
Check out the winglet now hanging off the rear "door"…
Congratulations to Tom Kristensen for his fourth DTM victory. We'll be rooting for you Tom at Le Mans in a few weeks!
:R
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Ugh I miss the days of being able to watch DTM on Speed Channel/Speedvision, oh the good 'ol days. And now I can only find torrents of a few races of the 2008 season, gah.
WOW, those cars look like they live in the wind tunnel. Very interesting aerodynamic designs.
08 Brands Hatch A4 sparks = DESKTOP!
that opening rain shot is a work of art
Some day, all cars will look like inverted airplanes, or very flat porcupines
It would be interesting to use the rear wheel wings on a drift car to 'tune' the smoke plume distribution.
How about active aero to direct more smoke at your competitor? LOL
How is it that DTM aero is fancier than ever, and F1 aero is as ugly and lame as ever.
2008 spec F1 looked the best...
These are wicked cars. are they actually based on the road going car at all or just made to look like one?
either way its an amazing class!
i love these DTM cars. yeah....i wanna see a time attack audi with dtm aero.
Wallpaper request for the very first photo PLEASE!!!!
1280x800 would be ultimate for my MacBook too haha.
@ NXRIDE: The cars are just made to look like the road going versions. I think they say the roof is the only thing that comes from the production line. These cars are really amazing.
Just like F1... Rules will be introduced that will set DTM back ten years
The Sparking Audi must be made into a wallpaper!
Also, DTM 2002 >>>>>>>> DTM 2009
DTM SUCKS BALLS with just Audi and Mercedes at each others throats. There's no competition except for who's the best mechanical team and pilots... I like to see some variety dammit!
That powerfully sexy rain shot shot
Sparking flinging Audi shot
And dust slinging final shot
NEED TO BE DESKTOPS.
I count as 10 people and we all agree.
rain + dtm a4 = desktop
I agree with Phil so that's like 11 people now? lol
come on
you regulars know that we only provide desktops of our own images, not press images
They will never understand that Andy. I swear to god 95% of the comments lately on every post are just requesting a damn wallpaper.
And for the record, 2009 F1 cars are hundreds of times better looking then the 08 and previous years. Too many god damn wings, barge boards, blah blah blah. They just look good this year. All in my opinion of course.
im thinking that DTM might follow the path of F1 and cut down the amount of aero gear on these cars by limiting budgets which would be a shame as these parts are very clever
i was there on may 17th -> DTM 2009 Round 1 at Hockenheim
it was great!!!