With the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters’ homologation cycle now fixed for the new regulations this season as of March 1st, Audi Sport are the first of the three brands to show their challenger for 2017, unveiling the new RS5 DTM at the Geneva International Show.
Sharing the same design language as it’s road-going counterpart, which was unveiled on the very same stage by Audi Sport CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, the new RS5 DTM gave the first full glimpse as to the changes that will be seen on the grid at eight different race tracks this season.
With a delay having occurred on the turbo-charged powerplants set to make a possible début in 2019, Audi’s new car still runs a normally-aspirated 4.0-litre V8, which has had a power increase to over 500bhp, up from 460 on the previous generations.
“This is a special day for me and everyone involved in the DTM project,” said Head of Audi Motorsport, Dieter Gass, who is hoping for similar success with the new car, as the previous version took ten wins over the past two seasons.
“For the first time, we developed a new DTM car in parallel with the production model. This underlines once again how closely motorsport and production work together at Audi.”
Project Leader Stefan Gugger explained that there was an evident progressive approach towards the RS5’s design, as well as admitting that the team went into a lot of detail to explore different options regarding the aerodynamics.
“In addition, we’ve improved the components in terms of accuracy of fit once again,” he stated.
“As far as gap dimensions are concerned, Audi has always stood out from the competition. Still, we’ve made another step that enhances aerodynamic performance.”
The new Drag Reduction System was also on prominent display at the rear of the new car. This has switched from a tilting rear wing from the last five seasons, to a fixed wing with a top plane that flattens when activated, enabling higher top speed and promoting further overtaking possibilities.
Apart from the softer Hankook tyres, less downforce and more power, the ride height has also been raised to further reduce the downforce available on set-up for all 18 drivers competing this year, along with all DTM cars receiving identical suspension systems.
Further changes to the Audi RS5 DTM includes cooling and air intake system upgrades, as the engines will be under further duress with the increased power for 2017, with the changes helping to aid in reliability.
“The new DTM regulations reflect a major effort aimed at achieving further cost reductions while enhancing the sport and making the cars more attractive,” explained Gass, who was recently announced as the new Head of Motorsport, following the decision from Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich to retire from the head of the Ingolstadt brand’s racing activities.
“These are exciting times for the DTM. We have more power, softer tires and less downforce. Combined with the best drivers, we expect to see even more thrilling racing. I can only invite everyone to come to Hockenheim at the beginning of May to personally witness the first race of our new baby.”