Is a French car better than a German car?

Perhaps the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hr endurance race provides the answer...

Le Mans is an historic race popularised by Steve McQueen’s portrayal of a racing driver (1970). Starting at 3pm on Saturday and running non-stop till 3pm on Sunday, fifty+ cars contest 5 separate class trophies on the same track at the same time. They stop every hour for fuel, tyres, and, occasionally, to change driver.

Only two major car manufacturers contest the leading class for the biggest trophy and overall podium places: Peugeot and Audi. Peugot’s prototype diesel against Audi’s prototype diesel. Both purpose built race cars driven by the world’s best drivers.

All 3 factory-run Peugeots start clocking up laps a few seconds quicker than the 3 opposing Audis and a gap quickly develops. As night falls the french fans can be heard popping champagne corks around the camp fire. By morning, cracks have begun to show and the leading Peugeots are proving fragile, rough around the edges, fast but troubled. The Audis, by comparison, appear rock solid, consistent, unbreakable. As Wooderz said “To finish first, first you must finish”. Peugeot lose one car and then another but rally behind their sole remaining car lying in 3rd place, one lap down with 3 hours remaining on the clock.

It’s a bright warm Sunday afternoon and a quick calculation by recording lap times on an iPhone reveals the 3rd place Peugeot is on target to catch the leader on the last lap in the final few minutes, just when a puff of smoke signals the Peugeot’s last lap. Audi finish up in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

It would appear that Germany make reliable cars and the French don’t. Art imitating life?