Hydrogen as the future for Audi?

A pioneer with the Quattro system in the World Rally Championship at the start of the 80s with the A2, then Quattro Sport and Quattro S1, Audi has regularly been the benchmark brand for combining technological revolution and success in motorsport.

After his victories in WRC until the end of Group B, the German brand joined the world of sports prototypes at the end of the 90s, greatly disrupting the discipline, both with the Audi R8, the first car to feature direct injection technology. 'essence, that with the R10, the first car to win with a diesel engine in 2006 at Le Mans. Enough to generate a major commercial impact for the firm.

Still in terms of propulsion modes in LM P1, the arrival of the hybrid in 2012 (first brand to win with the hybrid) was also marked by a desire to pass on the technological advances developed in motorsport in terms of series production, with the famous e-tron version.

But the future could well lie elsewhere for the Ingolstadt brand. The field of hydrogen, where we also find BMW involved, could hide the next avenue of work for Audi and its racing versions.

“If we wanted to demonstrate our capabilities in the field in this way, we could do so, explains Stefan Knirsch, head of technical development at Audi, quoted by Autocar. But the first thing is we have to make sure there is a future for a production. We don't want to show things that don't lead to something concrete in production, and right now the lack of infrastructure leaves that in limbo. »

However, German engineers are already well into this mode of propulsion after unveiling an Audi H-tron quattro concept in Detroit (Michigan) last January. “We are developing hydrogen fuel cell technology for a concrete production level – but the market must decide when we launch this, continues Stefan Knirsch. We are ready, but the infrastructure is still not there, and the relationship between all-electric and hydrogen cars is unclear. »

The method of propulsion based on hydrogen fuel cells has already seen the arrival of the Green GT H2 prototype, which completed a lap of the Le Mans track this year, on the sidelines of the race.