As the actual Audi brand, Audi have been active in motorsports since the 1980s when it produced the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro which was a hugely successful rally car, regularly cited as one of the most important rally cars of all time, acting as the foundation for many cars to come. Audi, with the Quattro, proved to the rally world that 4WD was the future and went on to achieve many successes with the Quattro throughout the 1980’s, winning two Manufacturers’ titles that decade.

The following decade also produced impressive results for Audi who focused their attention on touring cars before moving on to Sports car racing at the start of the 21st century. This is the area of motorsports where Audi have really excelled in and dominated repeatedly, and easily what Audi is now most known for. They took the Sports car racing scene by storm when the introduced the Audi R8, which won the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour race in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.The R8 would have won for 5 consecutive years had it not been for the Bentley Speed 8 which took the first and second spots in 2005, Audi still had their presence felt in the top spots though, as the Bentley Speed 8 possessed engines which were designed by Audi themselves…. Even when they come third; they come first and second! 2006 saw the Audi R10 TDI replace the R8. The R10 TDI was innovative as it had a Diesel engine, yet not much changed in the way of its success and it made history as the first ever diesel sports car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006.