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Audi quits Formula E to focus on Dakar Rally, Le Mans return via LMDh

Audi on Monday made several major motorsport announcements.

The brand with the four rings confirmed it will exit the Formula E Championship at the end of the 2020/2021 season, leaving Porsche to represent the Volkswagen Group in the electric open-wheel series.

Instead, Audi will enter the Dakar Rally for the first time, using an electric SUV. It will be a bespoke SUV with a high-voltage battery and an internal-combustion engine serving as a range extender, the automaker said.

2020/2021 Audi E-Tron FE07 Formula E race car

Audi is making a multi-year commitment to the Dakar Rally, starting with the 2022 rally. The automaker said its aim is to use motorsport to improve the performance of its electric drive systems and batteries and transfer this knowledge into future road cars.

We’ve already seen this in Formula E where Audi’s latest entry features an electric drive system that develops 335 horsepower yet weighs less than 77 pounds. The drive system also has an efficiency rating of 95%, and the efficiency of its motor-generator alone is 97%.

And while Audi has never competed in the Dakar Rally before, fellow VW Group brands Porsche and Volkswagen have experience to call on—especially VW which scored a hat track of wins between 2009 and 2011.

Markus Duesmann

“We want to continue demonstrating the brand’s slogan ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ in international top-level motorsport in the future and develop innovative technologies for our road cars,” said Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi. “The toughest rally in the world is the perfect stage for this.”

Audi also confirmed Monday it is preparing to enter the new LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) category for prototype racers announced back in January. LMDh was announced jointly by IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) and ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest), which sanctions the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the highlight of the World Endurance Championship. The rules are still being hammered out but LMDh could be introduced in the WEC and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship by the 2022 season, essentially allowing a team to compete in races from both series with the same car.

Audi said it will also continue to investigate other motorsport arenas, though don’t look for a new DTM entry. Audi in April said it will quit DTM after 2020.

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November 30, 2020
2022 Genesis G70 wagon spy shots: Longroof coming but probably not to US

Genesis will add a wagon body style to its G70, as evidenced by the recent sighting of this prototype in Europe.

Genesis hasn’t announced plans for a wagon but we’ll likely see it introduced next year to coincide with the market launch of an updated G70 sedan.

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The G70 sedan only arrived for 2019 but Genesis has updated the styling so it matches the rest of the cars in the automaker’s lineup, namely the new G80 and GV80. The updated G70 sedan is expected on sale next year as a 2022 model.

Don’t expect to see the wagon reach the United States. It’s designed to target vehicles like the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3-Series Sports Wagon, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Wagon, none of which are sold here. The arrival is meant to coincide with Genesis’ expansion into Europe where wagons are popular.

Updated Genesis G70

Genesis is yet to reveal details on its updated G70. The current powertrain lineup will likely carry over to the updated range, meaning the choice of a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 or a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V-6. A 2.2-liter turbodiesel inline-4 is also offered in some markets. Sadly, the manual transmission is being dropped. It’s not a huge surprise as less than 1% of G70 buyers tick this option.

The new model introductions at Genesis won’t slow anytime soon. Two SUVs are in the works, one of which is the GV70 small SUV arriving next year. Also arriving next year will be a dedicated EV and an electric version of the G80.

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November 29, 2020
McLaren Artura, BMW X7, Ford designer’s own GT: This Week’s Top Photos

McLaren this week confirmed that its next supercar will be called an Artura. Prototypes are currently testing and the debut is set for the first half of 2021.

2020 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

If you can’t quite afford a supercar like the Artura, you don’t have to miss out on all the fun as Chevrolet’s C8 Corvette delivers up a similar experience for much less money. This week we took the car’s convertible body style for a spin.

2021 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo

Another vehicle we tested was the new Mazda 2.5 Turbo. Despite the turbocharger, this is no Mazdaspeed 3. Rather, it’s a powerful, mature, compact car that is well-mannered and moves like a premium offering.

2023 BMW X7 spy shots – Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

The BMW X7 will be updated to match the radical new look pegged for the next-generation 7-Series. Spy shots of a prototype reveal a completely new front-end design for the full-size SUV.

2022 Audi Q4 E-Tron spy shots – Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

Another vehicle we spied was a new compact SUV with battery-electric power from Audi to be called a Q4 Sportback E-Tron. It’s the coupe-like version of the upcoming Audi Q4 E-Tron SUV, and both are due on sale next year.

2017 Ford GT owned by Moray Callum (photo by Canepa)

The personal Ford GT owned by the man who oversaw the design of the car, Moray Callum, Ford’s vice president of design and brother to fellow automotive designer Ian Callum, is up for sale. It’s listed for sale at Canepa at an undisclosed price.

Bugatti Chiron Sport “Les Légendes du Ciel”

Remember the Legend editions of the Veyron built to honor key people from Bugatti’s past? Well, the French marque returned this week with a new Legend edition of the Chiron honoring Bugatti racing drivers from early last century who also pushed the limits in the skies.

Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini

Lamborghini and Ducati have collaborated for the first time. Their first endeavor together is a Ducati Diavel 1260 motorcycle inspired by the Lamborghini Sian supercar.

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November 28, 2020