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.

Related Content

  • Green light for 200mph Porsche hybrid
    January 31, 2012
    The supervisory board of Porsche yesterday gave the green light to series development and production of the Porsche 918 Spyder.
    Read More
  • LA launches own ‘Green New Deal’
    August 15, 2019
    Los Angeles, once a temple to the automobile, has followed the Democrats in launching its own Green New Deal – and the city has made big pledges on urban mobility investment The Democratic Party has started something. The Green New Deal, one of whose most high-profile supporters is new congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, intends to persuade the public that swift action is necessary to combat climate change. Now the city of Los Angeles has followed suit, releasing what it calls ‘LA’s Green New Deal’.
    Read More
  • Side road accidents ‘increase by 12% in a year’
    July 29, 2015
    The number of car accidents involving a driver pulling out of a side road accounted for an estimated 198,000 crashes nationwide last year, according to latest research by Accident Exchange. The accident management company analysed data from 39,000 cases of accidents it handled in 2014 and found that 9% were the result of a motorist emerging from a side road without paying enough attention. That figure in 2013 was 7.9%, representing an increase in real terms of 12% in the space of just 12 months. F
    Read More
  • Missouri becomes 17th US state to mandate ‘alcolocks’
    July 13, 2012
    Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed into law a bipartisan bill that requires all convicted drunk drivers to use ignition interlocks on their vehicles to prevent future offences. Missouri is the 17th US state to mandate this requirement. Beginning in October 2013, the new law requires first-time drunk driving offenders use an interlock for 75 days. If the interlock shows a vibolation during this period of restricted driving privilege, the person's license will not be reinstated until they complete an addi
    Read More

Highlighted Content