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Audi races ahead with new R8 LMS [w/video]

The biggest news from Audi at the Geneva Motor Show may very well be the reveal of the all-new, second-generation R8 supercar. But the road-going version isn't the only one it's rolling out at the Swiss expo, where it's joined by the new competition-spec R8 LMS. Set to hit race tracks around the world next season, the new Audi R8 LMS picks up where the current one leaves off, having taken 26 GT3 Championship victories and seven 24-hour race wins between 2009 and 2014. That's a heck of a mantle to assume, but the new model looks like it'll be up to the task. Based on the new road-going R8, the new LMS is built to 2016 GT3 regulations and in many ways even exceeds them. In fact, Audi says it meets the more stringent crash requirements for the LMP1 class, and includes its state-of-the-art Audi Protection Seat PS 1 from the R18 E-Tron Quattro. It also incorporates the emergency hatch Audi built in to its DTM racers. Of course, there's more to the new R8 LMS than safety. Despite the addition of those features, the whole package is a good 55 pounds lighter than the outgoing model, thanks to the lightweight spaceframe chassis and the increased use of carbon-fiber components – all the while offering more torsional rigidity. Power still comes from Audi's celebrated 5.2-liter V10 engine producing 585 horsepower, but is now mated to a new six-speed sequential gearbox and benefits from an entirely new electrical system, improved airflow and optimized aerodynamics. All that and more ought to help the new R8 LMS and its customer racing teams achieve the success they're after once it makes its competitive debut at the Nurburgring 24-hour race in mid-May 2016. Related Video: AUDI R8 LMS ESTABLISHES NEW RACE CAR GENERATION: LIGHTER AND SAFER THAN EVER BEFORE Ingolstadt, March 3, 2015 – Audi is again running in front. As one of the first automobile manufacturers to do so at the beginning of the 2015 season, the brand with the four rings is presenting a race car that already meets the requirements of the new GT3 regulations to be introduced in 2016. The new Audi R8 LMS is lighter and safer than ever before. It features even more race car technology, clearly improved aerodynamics and, as a result, provides customers with an efficient concept. Back in spring of 2014, Audi began testing the new R8 LMS that is following in big footsteps.

Audi CEO says brand's EVs are almost as profitable as its other cars

After, oh, a hundred years or so of building vehicles primarily powered by internal combustion engines, automakers around the world have been and still are pumping billions of dollars into the development of electric vehicle technology. Everything from platforms and batteries to motors and the software to control it all requires untold hours of development, and that takes time and money. Fortunately, it's not going to take long for that massive investment to start paying off, at least according to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, who told Reuters in an interview that "The point where we earn as much money with electric cars as with combustion engine cars is now, or ... next year, 2023. They are very even now, the prices." As a brand, Audi contributed more than a quarter of overall profit for the massive Volkswagen Group, which has such powerhouse brands as Volkswagen and Porsche among others. Under the Audi umbrella are Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati, and it seems those high-end branches aren't going anywhere, at least for now. "These brands ... are very valuable very profitable brands, where we can even expand the synergy level in the future," Duesmann said in the interview. "There are no plans whatsoever to get rid of them." Despite the overall profitability of the brand, the ongoing global chip crisis is causing headaches. "We had a very strong first half in 2021. We do expect a much weaker second half," said Duesmann, who added, "We really have trouble." In fact, so serious is the trouble that the brand is forced into "a day-to-day troubleshooting process" to limit the chip-shortage damage. The good news for the automaker is that Audi has been able to boost its profit margin from 8% prior to the pandemic in 2019 to 10.7% in the first half of 2021. The bad news is that various chip shortages aren't expected to get a whole lot better over the rest of the year. Related video:

Audi bringing Q3 Stateside after all?

One of the major changes that made to the Audi SQ5 to get it ready for the US market was a ride height that was lifted by 1.2 inches compared to its European counterparts. The small increase allowed the SQ5 to retain its "light truck" classification of the Q5 for emissions regulations. In a similar move, Car and Driver is reporting that the Audi Q3 crossover will also be joining the Audi lineup in the US once it receives a facelift and taller ride height.
Expect this facelift to fit in with other recent product updates including the Q5, which mainly focused on a cleaner, more upscale front end and the company's signature LED running lights. The report says that Audi could bring the Q3 Stateside "within a year or two," and it also says that a souped-up RS Q3 will follow close behind. This performance version of the compact crossover gets its power from a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five-cylinder engine shared with the Audi TT RS.