Although it might take a leap of imagination to equate the fearsome Audi R18 TDI that races for outright honours in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race every year with the A3 in the neighbour’s driveway, the two cars have more in common than you might think.

Audi is the second most successful manufacturer in the 88-year history of the famed racing event, so it knows something about the prestige associated with winning at Le Mans. But looking a little deeper suggests that’s not the sole reason that it’s there. For Audi, motorsport is essentially a high-speed test bed for technology that could eventually find its way into its road cars – a Vorsprung durch Technik experiment, if you will.

As a result, taking a look at what Audi is doing with its Le Mans cars can sometimes give a hint as to what direction its road cars could take in the future. The firm caused waves by switching from petrol to diesel in its race car a few years ago, and the technology that it developed along the way contributed hugely towards helping make Audi’s diesel-powered road cars more fuel efficient.

Since then it has introduced a diesel hybrid – not a huge surprise, considering that most major manufacturers are looking into making alternatively-fuelled cars more viable. But it raised eyebrows again last week when it launched the R18 e-tron Quattro – a turbo diesel hybrid with an AWD powertrain – for its 2012 Le Mans campaign. Two of the cars will race at the French endurance classic alongside two more conventional diesel versions. Is that a sign of things to come from Audi in the future? History certainly suggests that this is a space worth watching.

Audi’s tradition of using motorsport to improve its road cars is old enough that you don’t need to spend over the odds on a new, high performance model to benefit from a bit of racing DNA. There are plenty of used Audis on the market right now that can put a bit of the Le Mans spirit into your own garage.