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Audi to enter third R18 following Loic Duval's huge crash

When we saw the picture above yesterday, our first thought went to driver Loic Duval. After hearing that he, miraculously, walked away from the annihilated heap that had been the number one Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, our next thought went Audi's hopes in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the race kicking off on Saturday, we couldn't be sure if the team would run a two-car effort (that would put them on even footing with the two-car teams of Porsche and Toyota), attempt to rebuild the decimated racer or bring in a new tub and start from scratch.
Turns out, Audi opted for door number three, importing an all-new chassis to replace the destroyed R18. According to Audi, the team pulled an all-nighter to ready the new car in time for scrutineering and the second round of qualifying.
After a lot of hard work the rebuilt #Audi R18 e-tron quattro No. 1 is almost complete #R18 #LM24 @FIAWEC pic.twitter.com/xicPj0wScW

A dealer made a 'Urus' out of an Audi Q7 to get people excited for Lambo's SUV

Fake news seems to be catching on. In an attempt to drum up some interest in the upcoming Lamborghini Urus (the Italian SUV that hasn't been unveiled yet) the Lamborghini dealer in Nurnberg, Germany, created a Lambo-badged promotional vehicle. It seems it has fooled at least a few folks, with several outlets reporting on it as if it's a Lamborghini prototype. Of course, it's not. What you're looking at is an Audi Q7 with a camouflage wrap that includes a Lamborghini-script logo across the back and a promotional message on the side, which reads: "Der Urus kommt / Lamborghini Nurnberg." Thanks to one semester of German, we can tell you that first part means "The Urus is coming." Note, that's "is coming," not "is here." There's also something that kind of resembles a scoop on the front fender. It's also fake. It's not uncommon for automakers to put a cryptic message on the side of a test car, often with swirly camo, but this takes the idea a step further since it's not the actual car underneath. That said, the production Urus, whenever it arrives, is expected to share the Audi Q7's MLB 2 platform. So it sort of works. Kind of. Related Video: Image Credit: CarPix Audi Lamborghini Crossover SUV Luxury Performance confirmed

Car companies may need to start curbing model proliferation

Looking at the current automotive landscape, especially from German makers, you quickly get the impression that less definitely isn't more. BMW alone offers its 3 Series platform in practically every segment possible, including the regular sedan and 4 Series Gran Coupe, which would seem to be direct competitors. Porsche might be the winner, though, with 20 different variants of the 911 listed for sale on its US website. However, some of this model madness might be reaching an end as companies begin cutting back spending or shifting money to other priorities.
According to Yahoo Finance, the offerings from the German automakers are up 25 percent over the past three years to over 200 models in Europe. The peak is expected to come around 2018 at 230 separate vehicles, according to consulting company PwC.
Amazingly, BMW, which is among the poster children for this model explosion, might be changing its tune. "I'm sure there will be points in the future where we look at certain cars and say, 'Maybe we need to think differently now,'" said head of sales Ian Robertson in an interview, according to Yahoo Finance. The statement certainly sounds shocking coming from a company rumored to have 23 front-wheel-drive vehicles all using a single platform on the way.