Skip to main content

Audi achieves first victory for a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans 24 hours race

Audi achieved a technological milestone in motorsport at the 80th running of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in France when its hybrid drive vehicle, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, triumphed for the first time. The four competing Audi R18 cars were the quickest and most reliable vehicles and after 24 hours occupied positions one, two, three and five.
June 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS2125 Audi achieved a technological milestone in motorsport at the 80th running of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in France when its hybrid drive vehicle, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, triumphed for the first time. The four competing Audi R18 cars were the quickest and most reliable vehicles and after 24 hours occupied positions one, two, three and five.

"With the e-tron quattro in combination with ultra-lightweight design, we put a completely new technology on the grid and immediately won with it - this cannot be taken for granted by any means, particularly here at Le Mans,” commented Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management of Audi.

Operating at the rear of all four Audi R18 cars was the latest evolution of the compact V6 TDI engine with VTG mono turbocharger that was used at Le Mans for the first time in 2011. The new ultra-light transmission with a carbon fibre housing - a novelty in a Le Mans sports car - held up to the Le Mans endurance test covering a distance of 5,151 kilometres in all four vehicles without any problems.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sensys Traffic moves into growth phase with new CEO
    March 24, 2015
    Sensys Traffic is moving into what it calls a new phase with the appointment of a new CEO. Torbjörn Sandberg, currently a member of the company’s Board of Directors, is replacing Johan Frilund, who will assume responsibility for strategic business development following this change. Having established itself in the market, the company is now entering a new phase in which the focus is on growth, both organic and through acquisitions, continued internationalisation and business development. After seven years a
  • China aims to boost road safety with drink driving crackdown
    April 25, 2012
    The authorities in China claim that tough new laws against drink driving are already having a major benefit for road safety, according to the official news agency Xinhua. The latest official statistics reveal a sharp drop in road accidents caused by drink driving over a recent long holiday weekend. The newly amended law imposes harsher punishments on drunk drivers, with police also taking a tough line on enforcement.
  • BMW providing on-line RTTI
    April 17, 2012
    BMW has announced a new enhancement for customers who have subscribed to the BMW Assist and BMW Online features in the company’s ConnectedDrive telematics service. Access to the latest traffic reports via real-time traffic information (RTTI) from the web portal with any internet-enabled device is now being offered. Previously users could only access this service while in the vehicle.
  • Ford and Nokia research a smarter and more personalised driving experience
    June 27, 2012
    Ford's research organisation will use Nokia's location platform to advance innovation for smart and connected vehicles, as demonstrated by the Ford EVOS concept car. Ford selected the platform to leverage Nokia's high-quality global location content, including the Navteq map, as well as scaleable cloud services and APIs. It is claimed this complete solution offers a fast, easy and cost-effective path to create innovative and differentiated location products.