The monster from Ingolstadt: Audi R15 TDI

There are not many cars, especially racing cars, that actually strike fear into those who look at them. But, Audi has created the Great White of LMP1 cars, with gills made of carbon fiber and a heart that feeds on diesel.

Many can argue that sports cars have a certain elegance that can't be found in any other motorsport. But, the new Audi R15 wants to bring something else to the table: brutality with a grin on its face.

The Audi R15 (which is a V10 diesel) is the successor to the Audi R10 (which had a V12 diesel). The original Audi LMP1 car was the R8 with a V8 gas mill, but its name is now used on the production Audi R8, which you can get with a V10. Confused yet? Thought so.

Since 2000, Audi has dominated the endurance racing scene with a successive series of amazingly blisteringly fast prototype cars. Their first entry into LeMans racing was in 1999. But, they did not capture the biggest race of them all, the 24 Hours of LeMans, until a year later. Since that initial victory they have only lost once at LeMans to a Bentley Speed 8 which just happened to be using the same engine.

For more pictures of the Audi R15 head on over to Jalopnik.