efecreata photography/Bigstock.com

While fuel consumption figures are certainly on the minds of car buyers and therefore manufacturers, it may be surprising to find that motorsport, too, is under huge pressure to be more efficient.

The latest big name event to 'go greener' is the 24 Hour Le Mans endurance race. Its organiser, Auto Club de l'Ouest (ACO) has imposed new fuel economy regulations on its cars – to the tune of a 30 per cent reduction in petrol consumption.

That appeared to be a huge ask, but the motor sports engineers were unperturbed. On Test Day, just six tenths of second were lost on pole position compared to last year.

Audi, Toyota and Porsche form the front line this time round, with the latter having been absent from the leading pack for 16 years. All marques now have to field a hybrid car – something that both Audi and Toyota have experience in.

But Porsche has built a hybrid programme from scratch – and the front row timing shows it has paid off. The Stuttgart-based firm is keen to add to its record 16 wins at the legendary endurance race.

However, pundits fancy Toyota for the win on the weekend, having done well in Silverstone and Spa, as well as the World Endurance Championship. Audi suffered various problems at Silverstone, while the reliability of the Porsche car has been called into question – despite a podium finish on their first run.

So, despite the huge new pressures on these engineers, the new Le Mans rides should not require car breakdown assistance when the race gets underway. Indeed, even though these cars have to manage on 30 per cent less fuel, Le Mans is as exciting as ever.