The 24 Hours of LeMans is coming up shortly, and nothing gets everyone excited for the historic race quite like rivalry. Luckily for us, LeMans is always full of the stuff-from Ford’s anger with Ferrari to the battleground that is the GT class of cars, great racing is always the end result of the feuding.
Audi has apparently missed having Porsche to compete with for both the overall first place spot and in the LMP class. So when Porsche entered the 919 Hybrid into competition for this year’s race, they felt it only necessary to welcome them back personally by cruising over to Stuttgart in an R18 e-tron and creating a proper welcome. Along the way are surprised deer, very surprised pedestrians, a classic Porsche tractor, and proof that the competing manufacturers can be cordial.
The 24 Heures du Mans kicks off June 14.
Porsche and Audi are both brands owned by Volkswagen AG. So this is sort of like Ford welcoming Lincoln back to Daytona . . . .
Yeah and I bet their respective race teams sit around the fire holding hands, singing songs, and telling each other how in love they are.
I’m guessing that there was a fair amount of “technological transfer” among them . . . maybe not as much as when the “Bentley Boys” returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe in a reworked Audi R8C . . . Bentley being yet another VW brand since 1998.
But it would be surprising if the Porsche wonks didn’t get a few pointers from the now-legendary Audi bunch.
VW is spending probably half a billion or more on this intramural Diesel hybrid (Audi R18 e-tron Quattro) versus petrol hybrid (Porsche 919) endurance showdown because it’s unlikely to lose. Audi and Porsche market to different niches.
And it sure upstages the return of the hated “evil empire” from the Far East (Master ‘Yoda) to the ACO’s little 24-hour show.
Porsche obviously didn’t borrow enough technology from Audi . . . . #PorscheDNF
Le Mans and the Indy500 are the two races I really like. Both off topic for my first love that is LSR.