AS a kid I have a strong memory of racing a 1:32 scale scalextric 1969 Dodge Charger – the one decked out as the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazard.

If you remember scalextric (it’s still going as a toy, incidentally) you’ll remember gingering up the electric brushes sticking out of the front underside of the vehicle, to ensure that the juice flowed.

And you’ll remember overgunning the poor thing into the first real curve and shooting it into an oblivion of carpet in a desperate attempt to beat your mate’s Batmobile.

I was reminded of all this when attending Le Mans last weekend for the first time, a long nurtured ambition.

I’d heard about the boring domination of Audi for years and years. And I’d read all the discouraging things about Formula One being usurped by dull sounding hybrids. And I’d driven a Toyota Prius (as white as a refrigerator, in case you are wondering) for 3000 miles in the US last year on a camping trip, and while it saved me real dollar on fuel, I can’t say that I ever got excited by it.

Imagine my amazement then, when standing on the famous Arnage corner for the first time. First a sensationally head splitting yowl that could only belong to a Ferrari 458 Italia, followed by a cultured blaze of sound made by one of the Aston Martins, followed by the Nascar rumble/roar of a Corvette.

But then what’s this? A strange hissing of air becoming a roar, and out of nowhere, almost too fast to track with the naked eye, this extraordinary creature that is the Audi R18 e-tron, with its supercapacitors capturing braking energy at the end of that short straight, only to dump it out through the front axle upon exiting Arnage, while hundreds of newton metres of torque from a six cylinder turbo-diesel drive the rear wheels from behind. In short, I was simply astonished.

It is the closest thing I have ever seen to a land-borne fighter jet, and unlike my ham-fisted scalextric operation, it rarely shoots off the track. Instead, it destroys all known opponents, although Toyota and Porsche are getting closer. As for the lower-classed Ferraris and Corvettes already mentioned, it makes them look like slugs.

I never thought I’d see it this way, but I did. Of course, I was glad for the Ferraris, don’t get me wrong. They sounded sensational. But I think I can see why supercars and maybe ordinary cars are mostly now headed towards hybridisation and electrification. On the basis of Le Mans, and Audi’s sensational fifth consecutive victory, it seems obvious.

Watch this video clip – wait to the end to hear the difference in the sound of the Audi e-tron.