With the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans nearly here, it's a good time to brush up on some of the history of this storied race. What better way to do that than with a colorful infographic?

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This infographic from Tool Orders should provide enough Le Mans trivia to win several bar bets. From the highest recorded top speed (251 mph) to Dan Gurney's 1967 champagne shower, it's all here.

There's also a comparison between the first Le Mans winner--a 1923 Chenard et Walcker Sport--and last year's winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro. That first winner boasted a 3.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which propelled it to an average race speed of 57.2 mph. The Audi shows the results of progress with its sophisticated diesel hybrid powertrain and average race speed of 122.69 mph.

Looking to the 2014 race, all eyes are on Audi and fellow Volkswagen Group property Porsche. Along with Toyota, the two German carmakers will compete in the top LMP1 class under new rules that emphasize efficiency as well as performance.

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The Porsche 919 Hybrid will bring the brand back to top-tier competition at Le Mans after a 16-year absence, which just happens to be the number of overall wins Porsche has to its credit. That's the most of any manufacturer; Audi is second with 12.

The 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off this weekend. For the latest updates, check out our dedicated hub.

2014 24 Hours of Le Mans infographic

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