Audi R8 e-tron Wins Silvretta E-Auto Rally

German manufacturer Audi was announcing last week it will enter its first electric vehicle, the e-tron, at the Silvretta E-Auto Rally Montafon 2010. And so it did, with the car clinching first place in the competition. Driver Lucas Luhr took the Audi e-tron electric sports car across the finishing line with the best result over a course of 167.5 kilometers (104.08 miles).

Furthermore, Audi also announced its ur-quattro model driven by 3-time Mille Miglia winner Luciano Viaro won the classic car rally at the same event.

“We are delighted at the Audi e-tron’s victory in the first E-Auto Rally,” Michael Dick, member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG with responsibility for Technical Development, said in a release. “On the Silvretta E-Auto Rally’s challenging route profile, we were able to demonstrate that we are well on the way to bringing electric drive to production maturity with our e-tron technology demonstrator based on the R8.”

The 313 hp R8 e-tron vehicle competed against 23 other electric cars over three days of racing and ten time trials. The car finished first in the overall standings by more than half a second. The Audi drive concept comprised four motors - two on the front and two on the rear axle.

AS for the 1988 Audi ur-quattro, the car achieved its first ever overall win in the Silvretta Classic race. The interesting fact is that Viaro’s co-pilot, who is blind, had to read the roadbook in braille. According to Audi, this is part of the carmaker’s initiative of making classic car racing accessible to the visually impaired.