Fake Competition? Audi R8 LMP vs. Bentley Speed 8

The early 2000s were exciting times. A new millennium meant a fresh start for many, and motorsport was no exception. Who was going to make their mark? New Le mans rules introduced in 1999 saw the dawn of the LMP (Le Mans Prototype) cars, and it became clear very fast which company was ahead, but that didn’t deter a certain plucky challenger. The is the battle for Le Mans, Audi R8 LMP vs Bentley Speed 8.
Big thank you to Tirann GTposting: / channel
#classic #audi #bentley #lemans

[@Caca990SSR]

I think we are forgetting the most important reason why Bentley won. It was a marketing stunt because the Bentley Continental GT lauched in the same year. They wanted to draw as much attention as possible to the brand. Once the VW group realised the Continental GT was a comercial success on it’s own. They dropped the Le Mans project.

[@MachoMadness69420]

You failed to mention the change in the driver lineup, which I think was a huge factor in Bentley’s 2003 victory. The decision to put two of the top Audi drivers (Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen) in the No. 7 Bentley goes to show that Bentley victory was very much something that was decided at a VW board meeting.

[@ZedNinetySix_]

Fun fact about the Speed 8, it's aerodynamics were designed by the same group who also designed the Group-C Peugeot 905 BiS Evo 1 & Evo 2 Supercopter. The Speed 8 was heavily inspired by the 905 Supercopter, showing that 10 year old aerodynamics in the early 90s from Dassault were just as superior in the early 2000s.

[@Christoffski]

The designer of the Group C 905 owns a Toyota GT-One TS020 because he designed that too. ;) Andre de Cortanze.

[@nsx_montana]

4:50 The legendary Escudo keeping up with them easily🤣 Nah but once again, hitting the nostalgia perfectly with the video😊

[@automobilistic]

hahahaha, glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@ruzgarakgul2051]

That aint no escudo, that’s an SX-4 pikes peak car ran by tajima

[@hanswurst6712]

I always felt like the marketing department of the VW group decided that Bentley should get the win, with pulling out their top team Joest from Audi and let them help Bentley. Without that win the entire Bentley Le Mans program would have been wasted, so it definetly would make sense imho from a marketing perspective.

[@automobilistic]

I think you're probably right

[@Vixen1525]

Bentley was acquired by BMW so.. We saw VW vs BMW XD

[@sidewalkere]

@@Vixen1525 Nop, Rolls Royce was. Bentley has been part of VW since 1998 and RR being part of BMW was just one more reason for VW to go for the pub stunt with Bentley at Le Mans.

[@damarfadlan9251]

@@automobilistic happy new year 2023, countreefus. From Damar Fadlan, the diehard fan of LoveLive, Gran Turismo and Nijigasaki fan.

[@gountzas]

The greatest corporate sandbagging in endurance racing history

[@theclansman6663]

Can we just stop for a second and appreciate how beautiful the Speed 8 is?

[@ruzgarakgul2051]

This is the first time I’m seeing the 2003 pescarolo in action in real life. Idk why pescarolo prototypes are hidden so much

[@automobilistic]

I was lucky enough to see one on track only a week ago. Very cool cars

[@Targoon_Music]

cause they look horrid and they don't want to give anyone eye cancer

[@grandicellichannel]

4:02 Le Mans 1999 is the key to understand how much "Audiness" was insilled inside the Speed 8 - as the Bentley is a direct evolution of the as beautiful as unlucky Audi Coupè proyotype of that year, which was developed by the english branch of the team, instead of the Roadster supported by the main one, which eventually became the base for the 2000 Audi LMP as well, just as you said.

[@RACECAR]

If I'm not mistaken, the Speed 8 and the R8C even had the same designer: Tony Southgate

[@D3Vlicious]

To wit, the 1999 Audi Le Mans program was somewhat unsure of whether an open top or closed cockpit prototype would be the better design-as there were two rulesets at the time-so they ran both that year. But BMW (and Williams, who designed the LMR) showed that open-top was the way to go, which is why Audi and everyone else went in that direction. Bentley, however, identified a few possible areas in the regs (larger allowed air restrictor and, for cars built before January 1, 2001 like the Speed 8, a smaller footbox) that they could exploit. The actual car itself does not share anything with the R8C apart from the engine block, despite being developed by the same UK-based firm under Peter Elleray.

[@D3Vlicious]

@@RACECAR Close, both were designed by Peter Elleray. Tony Southgate was only a consultant on the R8C.

[@johnbower7452]

You have to admit though; the Speed 8 just looked so much more than its rival. It looked like the LM cars of years gone by; and really was the last of them. Soon after it all began to change until you reached the ugly things we have now.

[@haozhengyuan618]

blame Audi exploring aerodynamics around headlight...

[@lukasgarage956]

I've seen both in-person the Speed 8 is still one of the best looking cars I've ever seen.

[@fyfyi6053]

Well not exactly because we still had good looking cars in GT racing like Saleen GT1 or Maserati GT1

[@YOUENNNN]

Ugly really ? The GR010 ugly ? The 499P ugly ? The 9X8 ugly ? c'mon you such a killjoy

[@salmanfarruz]

Ugly, now? Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Peugeot, Vanwall all look great mate.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome video. I remember the Bentley and always thought it looked amazing in that British Racing Green. Looking forward to the next video. Keep up the good work.

[@Dmooreslotreviews]

Great content. Been binging it. This is the era my dad brought me up with, and I am proper excited about the LMH/LMDh era for my sons

[@leschroder7773]

Whoever pitched the idea of the Bentley speed 8... i wanna kiss, the speed 8 is by far one of the best looking race cars

[@khanyilemgwebi2575]

Bro, absolutely love your content,keep it up❤️

[@automobilistic]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the videos

[@Cobblepot101]

Great video man ! Keep up the race car content please !!

[@automobilistic]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video! Plenty more on the way

[@bavaria2k2]

instant sub, the music is perfect for 2000s prototypes

[@jiska111111111111111]

Very cool videos, well put together

[@automobilistic]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them

[@abdulabdanahib9617]

absolutely love to watch your channel

[@philipbain]

You failed to mention one of the most significant factors that differentiated Bentley's 2003 success vs their 2001 and 2002 runs - the switch from Dunlop to Michelin rubber. Also the Bentley had a displacement advantage over the R8, 4 litres vs 3.8 litres.

[@automobilistic]

A change in tyres could have made an impact for sure, but the 2003 car had been pretty much re-worked from the ground up when compared to the 2001/2002 EXP variant, so it's hard to say how much of the pace delta could be attributed to tyres. The Bentley did indeed have a displacement and power output advantage over the R8

[@philipbain]

@@automobilistic I think the main advantage of the Michelins would have been in terms of longevity and flexibility of strategy as with those Michelin tyres you could do multiple fuel stints if required. Not sure if in raw pace terms it would have made much difference but in terms of running the car over the 24 hours I feel the difference would be significant. Like you say, it's impossible to quanitfy the difference the tyre switch made because the rest of the car was so extensively reworked. Also with the main opposition being independently run 2002 spec Audi R8s, VAG ensured that 2003 was Bentley's year!

[@Ardonn]

That's a rubbish way to let someone know there's a minor detail they didn't mention. You don't start the sentence by saying "you failed" He didn't fail, he mentioned what was necessary including the fact that the Bentley had a bigger engine, you failed to hear that. His video is awesome.

[@philipbain]

@@Ardonn hardly rubbish, I too enjoyed the video but felt that the change in tyre manufacturer was very significant in their bid for victory and it wasn't even mentioned!

[@eggreedgious5194]

The Speed 8 has got to be the best looking LMP (Racecar? Car?) Of all time. I could stare at it for eternity.

[@grimm6jack]

The Toyota GT-One exists though.

[@eggreedgious5194]

@@grimm6jack the Speed 8 most definitely exists.

[@lieblingsleguan1591]

The early 2000s weren't exiting times, they were boring as hell as much as Le Mans racing goes. 1999 was great whereas in 2000, Audi had to talk about how dangerous a contender the Panoz prototypes were... We'll never know how good a race car the R8 actually was as we never saw real competition by another manufacturer's team.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

Really? Meaning from the engine noise it wasnt

[@therrydicule]

I think that there is a bunch of things that happened at once, and that the VW group decided to play the rulebook for an easier win. Because 2003 was a year the rule changed a bit to slow down all the classes and also track limits (in 2002, someone could have put 2 wheels over the white line but not in 2003).

[@Jzwiz]

In early gran turismo games if i saw an audi r8 lmp i just restarted the race series, the ai just didnt lose with that with my terrible younger self driving.

[@cobii5174]

man this makes me giddy i remember absolutely falling in love with these cars as a kid

[@pokefrosch617]

Fakest competition ever, and painfully obvious even back then.

[@indopleaser]

good content . hand to find info on these cool looking 2000’s audi contenders

[@automobilistic]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video

[@tlreclipse1126]

6:28 wow have times changed, it looks insane to see those guys just sweeping while cars blitz by.

[@pont]

"this car was a machine" this writing is *impeccable*

[@pont]

jokes aside I really like your content. great storytelling and style 👍

[@sidewalkere]

I think VW deliberately choose to win de 2003 edition with Bentley, for publicity purposes. I mean, they even took Kristensen out of the R8 and put him in the Bentley, that year. They then promptly retired the car and Audi happily resumed the streak.

[@yanakaizzz9335]

The only check that matters, is the last one. Bentley brought it home with the Speed 8, even if the crown was somewhat chewed on...

[@jonpaullewis1087]

I was there (and still have the t shirt). Looking forward to all the works teams returning next year

[@azalli]

“This car was a machine” no shit

[@BOABModels]

They have had the Le Mans winning Speed 8 at the British Motor Museum from time to time. It's an amazing looking car. Am I right in saying that Audi utilised diesel engines to extend fuel economy?

[@automobilistic]

The couple of times I've been to the British Motor Museum I haven't seen the Bentley - I'll have to go again some time! Audi didn't use diesel engines until the R10, the R8 still used good old petrol.

[@Reznor_Meeks]

Nostalgic Gran Turismo memories...

[@Kernalpanik]

So ahead of its time

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

Gran Turismo 4 content at it's finest

[@MihzvolWuriar]

I'm playing gt4 right now, and I'm in the process of buying all lmp cars on it, just bought the R8, nice car, suffer with a bit of porpoising, but it's easily fixable and I already have done great laps with it, unfortunately the speed 8 is a endurance prize and I'm lazy to play them, both great looking cars though.

[@bmstylee]

Run it in B spec mode. Still gets you the prize for winning. Just saying.

[@Freecomments4u]

the speed eight was uuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh just perfect

[@andrehooker3229]

I hated the Bentley Speed 8 because Bentley aren't racing cars, but they sure did make one and proved everyone wrong.

[@supersubes]

The Speed 8 is sooooo pretty.

[@pegasusted2504]

I always loved Gran Turismo :~) 3 or 4 I think

[@stephenwilliams926]

Can you do a video about the rise of the Diesels at lemans.

[@aarondavies8486]

More please

[@damarfadlan9251]

Ah.... The Gran Turismo 4 days.... Kanata Konoe's Audi R8 LMP, Mia Taylor's Bentley Speed 8.... 😭

[@virtuosic4883]

2:40 the random drum had me rolling, so cringe

[@annybodykila]

Funny, i used to pit these two against each other in forza 1 a lot

[@oliverhawker1774]

The Speed 8 - 2nd best looking Le Mans car of all time, just behind the.......

[@scottl.1568]

Gran Turismo 4!

[@jakecivis7402]

Technically the speed 8 would be 100% but hey this is why statistics exist to fudge the numbers the way you need them to be.

[@sepg5084]

This car was a machine. Uuuhhh... yeah?

[@Peter9530]

thank you for at very interesting channel and your fine way of "telling the story" the use of gt-footage however take away the some of the seriousness and integrity of the content.

[@automobilistic]

I appreciate the feedback. All the videos I've made since have not included game footage

[@_SpamMe]

It's kinda weird how much German/VW cars dominate LeMans overall victories. Porsche at 19 victories, Audi at 13, and that's ignoring what's happening in lower classes. Guess it's for some reason a race these manufacturers really like.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

One of them cars was a jaguar XJR-14 chassis and the car was built by TWR. 1995 apart from engine its jag

[@donnypopovski7251]

Audi could see there were no more cheap wins in super touring with the 4wd Quattro. So let's load up on Le Mans victories while everyone's gone.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

Like Toyota lol

[@projectilequestion]

Why was the R8 heavier and less powerful? Was it to make it last longer in a race?

[@AdamTheMan1993]

It's because from 2003 onwards the ACO enforced heavy restrictions to slow down the Audi R8 as much as possible despite the fact the car won Le Mans again in 2004 and 2005 by privately entered teams Team Goh from Japan and USA's Champion Racing

[@HellaNorCal916]

I knew Bentley was owned by VW, but knowing how much Audi helped kind of sour's the win a little. I loved the speed 8 and thought it was a true Bentley works team. 😂 Nope, just smoke and mirrors. A VW specialty.

[@AdamTheMan1993]

The Bentley in 2003 were run by Joest Racing

[@foffplease3944]

Like VAG group did this more recently with the Porsche entries. Le mans was looking bleak so for decade VAG run the 24 hour race keeping it alive. Porsche was never able to compete in f1 so they owning Le mans.

[@JerryCrow]

Too little dataset for the bentley. If we take audis first 4 races, how many it won?

[@kevinblankenburg4816]

OMG, the plucky challenger got everything handed to him by big daddy (Audi). Only out of marketing reasons. LMP was dead as a dodo at that time.

[@augure2589]

0:01 I’ll watch your video, but the obvious answer is: SAME (by the way it was dvd era, why the fake vhs effects?)

[@automobilistic]

vhs effect was something I tried on just this one video. by the time I was making the next video I'd decided I didn't really like it but there's no changing it now haha. it remains the only video on the channel with this kind of prolonged overlay effect

[@smoloms]

I know it’s not a real comparison or a valid opinion, but driving the two in sims, the speed 8 is great

[@Skumtomten1]

Which sims features a good version of the Speed 8? Im curious because it's one of the best looking prototypes ever made imo and wish to drive one

[@JeanSchlemaan]

bentley is one of the most beautiful cars to ever race lemans.

[@Tom_Hadler]

The 2002 EXP is so mich better looking than tbe 2003 Bentley, I dont care that it didn't win, I prefer it. And besides, the 03 car won because of the lack of Audi factory support. It was basically chosen to win. Shame all car brands aren't all separate manufacturers owned independently, as it'd give a real incentive for competing (in certain sporty car market sectors)

[@AdamTheMan1993]

It's because Joest Racing who were the factory Audi team at the time took over the Bentley Speed 8 project for 2003, even 2 of the 6 Bentley drivers that year were from the Joest squad Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello

[@signurdfreud4963]

I'm certainly not the biggest motorsports fan, but your videos are genuinely interesting. Thanks

[@wesleyamancio3686]

Lola X german manufacturers date from 1969 . Porsche 1969 tô 1994 . And 1999 tô 2012

[@311superfly]

C'mon dude. Same guy designed both cars!!. Or was that Porsche Spyder. Too...

[@DapperHesher]

Peter Elleray designed the Speed 8.

[@mikeconnor3602]

I once heard a funny retort to, Cadillac won!!, yea they won alright, Audi didn't show up to race. Lol.. being a Cadillac fan, that hurt 🤣

[@davidmontierth8258]

The fake video static could have been left out.

[@automobilistic]

Yeah, there's a reason I haven't used it on any other video haha

[@davidmontierth8258]

@@automobilistic Great content though. I grew up in NY and went to a ton of races at Watkins Glen in the 80's. Saw a lot of these types of cars racing. That was when you could walk up to the famous blue guard rails, lean over them onto the track, and take pictures of the cars. Those were the days.

[@sandasturner9529]

I'd take the speed 8 Bentley over the R8 Audi any day, I don't care if I don't win as many races.

[@rocketman1058]

let me summarize 7 min in one sentence: Audi allowed Bentley (owned by Audi) to win one time with a car based on Audi R8.

[@arcticraider1805]

And with Audi's top driver Tom Kristensen.

[@Christoffski]

Not a Bentley and a sour win in my opinion. It's a lovely car, but in the wrong spirit. They could have called it a Seat. Whatever they wanted to sell at the time. Monopoly.

[@RafitoOoO]

Yeah, I don't buy that Bentley did it on its own. For me it was a publicity stunt to reinvigorate the brand since Bentley just sold rebadged Rolls Royces for decades. The VW group conveniently always changes who's going to get the crown. Why did Audi stopped racing at Le Mans and Porsche returned instead? I hope the new LMH brings real competition to the table.

[@aaronperelmuter8433]

Please, PLEASE get rid of that horrible “analogue tracking issues” filter you’re using. I like your videos but after watching a few, this was the last I could put up with. Regardless of the fact that it just looks awful, for reasons I’ve not been able to fathom, you even put it over the 100% digital AND animated in-game footage! WHY?? How/in what way is it supposed to improve anything whatsoever about your videos? It is so incredibly annoying and completely pointless with no benefit to you or the viewer. PLEASE DO EVERYONE A FAVOUR AND GET RID OF THESE FILTERS!!

[@automobilistic]

The filter is only on this one video. I tried it once and chose not to use it again. Any artifacting you see in other videos will be from the source footage, which in most cases is outside of my control.

[@aaronperelmuter8433]

@@automobilistic Ok, in that case I will continue to watch and like your vids. Keep it up👍

[@terran5569]

I don't like all of the video game footage. I prefer seeing real cars.

[@metricstormtrooper]

The fake video artifacts are annoying. Ad Very to that.

[@user-jz7zx8ym8l]

このベントレー、エンジンはアウディですよね。あまり意味ないような気がします。

[@shrimpshrubbery7664]

Bentley looks better. Boom Bentley wins.

[@cookncrack5334]

ON PAPER THE BENTLEY LOOKS BETTER

[@Keckegenkai]

The Bentley certainly was the best looking lmp car

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

No way autosportif DBA 03s judd

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

2nd racing for holland Dome S101