20.02.2025The Audi V8 whose crankshaft triggered the biggest scandal in DTM history

When the DTM started its ninth season in 1992, it was not yet clear what scandal would befall Audi. Audi had won the drivers' title in 1990 with Hans-Joachim Stuck and in 1991 with Frank Biela, making it the first manufacturer in DTM history to defend it. Due to the previous successes, the company from Ingolstadt started with an evolutionary stage of the winning car in 1992.

Due to the superiority in previous years, the DTM officials decided to impose an additional weight penalty on the Audi V8 for the 1992 season. At 1300 kg, the Audi weighed a good 320 kg more than its competitors from BMW or Mercedes. To mitigate this disadvantage, the engine department at Audi Motorsport created a crankshaft that was cranked by 180 degrees, thereby exploiting a loophole in the regulations. This was the birth of the most famous crankshaft in German motorsport.

The label WERK83 has now recreated the Audi with starting number 1 from Frank Biela in scale 1:18 from the 1992 DTM season. The model has steerable front wheels and a cockpit that is faithful to the original, which can be admired through the opening doors.

The regulations, written in French, stated at the time that the crankshaft had to be a "piece d'origine", i.e. an original part from the series. Audi asked for more details to find out whether this wording referred to the raw part in the foundry or to the finished series part. The answer that the wording referred to the raw part spurred Audi to crank the crankshaft by 180 degrees instead of 90 degrees (series production), thus achieving an additional power of 30-40 hp. However, due to the now changed ignition sequence and the increased maximum speed of the engine, the difference can also be heard on the track.

The story of the crankshaft began after the second race of the season in Zolder at the beginning of April 1992. On the instructions of the stewards, the Audi engine was examined and the result was that everything was in accordance with the rules. Just fourteen days later, after defending champion Frank Biela achieved the only victory of the 1992 season at the Nürburgring, BMW lodged a protest against the engine used. Since the stewards had already examined the engine, they rejected the protest straight away, which resulted in BMW lodging an appeal.

In response to this appeal, the surprising verdict was that the crankshaft did not comply with the rules and that Biela should therefore be disqualified. But this verdict was short-lived. During the fourth race at the beginning of May on the Berlin AVUS, it was announced that a TÜV report commissioned by the ONS declared the crankshaft to be legal after all. Anyone who believes that the story has been put to rest is unfortunately mistaken.

Because it was BMW again, represented by the then motorsport director Marc Surer, who protested again at the race in Hockenheim at the end of May. Ellen Lohr's victory for Mercedes, which to this day is the only victory by a woman in a DTM race, was almost lost in the hustle and bustle of events. Due to the report that had just been issued, the ONS rejected BMW's protest, but the Munich-based company appealed again.

Audi was not used in the "home game" at the Norisring after that. The ONS commissioners unexpectedly came to the final verdict that the crankshaft did not comply with the regulations and disqualified Audi from the race at the Norisring. Ferdinand Piech and Audi Sport Director Dieter Basche then withdrew all four cars entered with immediate effect. Audi allegedly never paid the 4.8 million D-Mark fine for not competing in the last ten races. What remains is the bitter aftertaste of BMW's season victory, which was achieved "on the green table".

Audi V8 Quattro #1 DTM 1992 Frank Biela 1:18 WERK83, item-no.: W1801511, RRP €79.95

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Audi V8 Quattro #1 DTM 1992 Frank Biela 1:18 WERK83

71,96 €