Le Mans classic in the Audi museum mobile

Posted on 02/14/2007 under: Motorsport, Audi

Audi’s Le Mans winning cars of 2000, 2001 and 2002

The Le Mans 24 Hours: What is surely the world's toughest and most fascinating motor racing event will be held for the 75th time in 2007. Lap after lap. Around the clock. Reason enough for the Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt to dedicate a special exhibition entitled "24 heures" to the legend that is Le Mans from 1 March to 17 June 2007. Audi has won this spectacular long-distance race on six occasions. The exhibits will include a number of vehicles from the long history of Le Mans: the Bentley racing car with which the legendary Bentley Boys caused a sensation in the 1920s; the Bugatti T 50 C of the late 1930s, which was technically untouchable; and the elegant Jaguar C Type, which won the race in 1953. And of course the absolute superstars of the Le Mans 24 Hours will also be on show: the Ford GT 40, which was unbeatable in the 1960s, and the Porsche 917, which dominated the 1970s.

If you count Bentley's success in 2003 with the Speed 8, which was powered by Audi Sport's TFSI engine, Audi technology has been unbeaten in the world's most demanding motor race since 2000. For the first time, all of Audi's winning cars will be on show together in an exhibition. From the Audi R8 of 2000, through the Bentley Speed 8 to the current Audi R10 with its TDI engine. This diesel-powered racing car rewrote motor racing history in Le Mans by winning its first victory in its first race (in 2006), and it will be taking on the international competition again in 2007.

A particularly interesting exhibit comes from the private collection of Nick Mason, drummer with legendary rock band Pink Floyd – a Lola T 920 in "The Wall" paint scheme with which Mason planned to race privately at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1981 to promote the album. And not to be missed are the stories in and about Le Mans – from the very beginnings to the cinema films, the stars and starlets and sponsors, to the famous Michel Vaillant comics. Everything that every year makes "France's biggest fairground", as Le Mans is also known, such a magnet for hundreds of thousands of motor sport enthusiasts from all around the world.

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, which were later combined under the umbrella of Auto Union. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. AUDI AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985. Together with the two traditional companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, Audi Tradition nurtures and presents the deep and diverse history of Audi. The Audi museum mobile at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Source: Audi