The Audi R8 was the Le Mans prototype that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times between 2000 and 2005.
Audi introduced the R8 prototype in 2000 after developing experience with the R8R and R8C projects. Built for the LMP900 class and developed with Joest Racing and Dallara, it quickly became one of endurance racing’s most successful cars. Its victories came in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
The only interruption was 2003, when the Bentley Speed 8 won overall. Bentley was also part of the wider Volkswagen Group and benefited from technical and operational links with Audi, but it was a separate entry and not an R8 victory.
The racing R8 used a 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with Audi’s FSI direct-injection technology. It was replaced by the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI in 2006. The racing prototype should not be confused with Audi’s road-going R8 sports car, whose production began in 2007 and whose name honored the prototype’s racing legacy.