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

  • Volkswagen chooses TomTom
    February 12, 2015
    TomTom has announced a multi-year agreement with automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Group to bring its traffic service to their cars across Europe, beginning with Audi and Volkswagen. TomTom is a major supplier of traffic information, with one of the most extensive bases of real-time GPS probes in the world, detecting the actual traffic situation on all roads. According to the company, recent industry benchmarks and awards prove that TomTom Traffic covers more jams with fewer false alerts than its comp
    Read More
  • Growth of China’s hybrid and electric powered vehicles market
    November 30, 2012
    New analysis from Frost and Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Chinese Hybrid and Electric Transit Bus Market, finds that the total hybrid and electric transit bus sales in China are expected to reach over 12,000 units by 2018, from 3,374 units in 2011. By 2018, the hybrid and electric powertrain penetration in transit buses is anticipated to be more than 14 percent. The total transit bus sales are likely to exceed 80,000 units by 2018, cementing China's domination of the global transit bus market. This is
    Read More
  • ITS America focuses on the environment
    March 13, 2012
    ITS America's appointment of a Director of Environmental Affairs signals a major new focus
    Read More
  • BlackBerry’s Jeff Davis: ‘Hands off 5.9GHz!’
    September 25, 2019
    As a US Marine, BlackBerry’s Jeff Davis saw the world’s trouble spots. But much of his attention is now focused on what he sees as the ITS sector’s biggest issue: cybersecurity. Adam Hill finds out more Oh, I often feel I’m the dumbest guy in the room,” laughs Jeff Davis, senior director, connected transportation, at BlackBerry. It’s hard to credit this. Davis has a range of experience that sets him apart from most people in the ITS sector. He was in the US Marine Corps, with seven tours of duty, inclu
    Read More

Highlighted Content