The Audi Skysphere, a rear-wheel-drive electric convertible concept, is the first of a trio of Audi concepts in the coming months, all with a -sphere name. As Audi Design Studio chief Gael Buzyn told Car and Driver, one of its attributes is the ability to extend or shorten its wheelbase by 9.8 inches.It’s intended as both a semi-autonomous grand tourer—it has Level 4 self-driving capability—and a driver-centric sports roadster.The Audi Skysphere concept is the latest elaboration on the theme of the long, low hood and rear-set cabin that has intrigued automotive enthusiasts for a century or more. This one is filtered through Audi’s technological worldview with a touch of emotion. With the press of a virtual button and the aid of electric motors and telescoping structural elements, the Skysphere’s entire front end can extend or contract, changing from an autonomous, long-wheelbase, stable grand tourer to a 9.8-inch-shorter and 0.4-inch-lower driver-centric roadster.

Audi

Audi

Even the interior transforms, the steering wheel and pedals coming out of the bulkhead as the passenger seat moves rearward and the driver’s portion of the dash comes forward to serve as an instrument panel. Yes, it’s an actual transformer.

Gael Buzyn and the team at the Audi Design Studio in Malibu conceived and designed the Skysphere concept, drawing inspiration from the proportions and purpose of the 1931 Horch 853, an Audi predecessor that was a long, luxurious roadster with a compact cabin. Both cars also drive the rear wheels, but unlike the straight-eight-powered Horch, the Skysphere concept packs a 623-hp electric motor and a battery pack, 30 percent of which lies between the passengers with the other 70 percent behind the rear bulkhead, yielding a front-to-rear weight balance of 40:60. With a single speed and 553 pound-feet of torque, Audi says, there’s enough theoretical propulsion to send the Skysphere to 62 mph in 4.0 seconds.
Buzyn pointed out the active aerodynamics at the front and rear of the car, which remain closed in GT mode but open in Sport mode. Though they weren’t yet active on the concept car, they can create a path for air to travel under the car and out the diffuser at the rear, effectively creating a venturi tunnel for downforce. Despite the sportiness of the silhouette and lack of apparent cargo area, there’s actually space for a custom luggage set, under glass and just above the rear drivetrain assembly, and space for two custom golf bags under the long hood, too. Buzyn says the interior pays subtle homage to Art Deco architecture, but the Skysphere also has a full dashboard screen, which splits and recedes or draws near the driver depending on the use mode, plus large touchscreens for armrests. The otherwise gorgeously minimalist interior is focused equally on semi-autonomous commute comfort and sporty-driving support. The underlying theme is a continuation of Audi’s tech-forward nature into the ever more technological future, but with a mind toward preserving the sensual, visceral joy of a good car.
More important than the specifics of the Skysphere concept, however, are the generalities: the things it tells us about what’s to come for Audi, especially as new models become increasingly autonomous. The concept hinges on the realization of at least Level 4 autonomous driving technology, which is the ability to fully self-drive without any need for human intervention within limited, predetermined environments or conditions. While that level of self-driving is still in development both technologically and legislatively, its desirability grows if your car could someday transform into a sporty roadster for a fun weekend romp in the hills once you’ve let it drive you out of town. An 80.0-kWh battery pack would provide the Skysphere a range of about 310 miles on the European WLTP cycle when it’s in the more economical grand touring mode, according to Audi. Don’t expect to see a production Audi Skysphere, but aspects of it can be expected to appear in Audis of the near future. Meanwhile, Audi will also reveal two other concepts, the Grandsphere and the Urbansphere, in coming months, all designed for an autonomous future. Desirable, sure, but how much of it can really happen? Could we really have one car from commute to canyon, even in the presumably dystopian metropolises of 2033 and beyond? Maybe. I didn’t use to think so, but now, I’m not so sure.
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The 2023 Audi RS5 coupe and Sportback add an optional Competition package.It has a stiffer suspension, a louder exhaust, stickier tires, and different tuning for the transmission and rear differential.The Competition package will be a $16,100 option available for ordering starting in June.As BMW is getting ready to step up the game with upcoming derivatives of the M3 and M4, Audi is responding with a Competition Package available on the RS5 coupe and Sportback. It aims to make the RS5 faster, louder, and more aggressive.

While the output of the twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 engine remains unchanged at 444 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, the Competition model comes with a more generous governor that increases the top speed from 174 mph to 180 mph. The “RS Sport Exhaust System Plus,” not available on the regular RS5, not only blares out its message to the public more freely, its impact is further enhanced by Audi ripping out almost 18 pounds worth of sound insulation so those inside the car can enjoy the engine note better, too. The eight-speed automatic transmission changes gears even more quickly. We wish Audi would have corrected the direction of the manual shifter gate, as Porsche did a few years ago, but alas.
There are plenty of interesting chassis modifications, too. Besides the rear differential, which is modified to make the RS5 more tail-happy, Audi says it has retuned the fixed-ratio steering, which it calls Sport Direct Steering. An adjustable coilover suspension lowers the car by 0.4 inch and can be manually adjusted to be another 0.4 inch lower, making for a total reduction of 0.8 inch compared with the standard RS5. There are also higher spring rate and stiffer stabilizers. Good news when you take on that M4 or Lexus RC F on the racetrack. Audi is offering Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires on 20-inch wheels.The RS5 Competition is enhanced with plenty of glossy black elements inside, and the exterior can be specified with a matching color called Sebring Black that features a crystal effect. Glossy carbon for exterior trim components is available, too, as is matte carbon that is only available on the Competition Package.
The package doesn’t come cheap, as it costs $16,100 on top of the RS5’s already steep starting price of $76,995 for the coupe and $77,295 for the Sportback. These $90,000-plus costs of entry put the RS5 Competition it a bit above the equivalent BMW M3 and M4 models, which both start just under $80,000 for the 503-hp Competition xDrive variants. Still, the RS5 Competition models set out to prove that the Audi Sport division, located in Neckarsulm – some 2 hours away from Ingolstadt – is moving aggressively. We look forward to comparing the Competition models with similar offerings from BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, and others.
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Ford has received a new supply of semiconductor chips, ending a shortage that has caused major production stoppages this year across the auto industry.The chips will be installed on thousands of Ford F-series trucks that had been built and parked, waiting for the parts, in lots across several states.F-series sales dropped nearly 30 percent in June over year-earlier figures as dealers ran out of new stock, but for the year as a whole, they’re down only 1.5 percent and there’s little chance the big-selling trucks are any less popular.The shortage of semiconductor chips has plagued automakers for months, slowing production lines and causing dwindling inventories, but Ford has taken a major step toward ameliorating the situation. The company has received a fresh supply of chips, which it will now install into thousands of F-series trucks that were waiting for them. F-series sales had dipped dramatically in June as a result of the supply woes, but this horde of new trucks will likely boost those figures back up.Ford did not specify how many vehicles would become available thanks to the influx of semiconductors, but according to the Detroit Free Press, the company had thousands of F-series pickups fully assembled, except for the chip. These trucks have been parked in lots across Michigan, Kentucky, and Missouri, all states that have an F-series factory. Car and Driver reached out to Ford, which declined comment on where the new supply of semiconductors came from.

The effects of the shortage and empty dealer lots was plain to see in the sales results. In June, F-series sales sank 29.9 percent compared to June 2020, even though the United States was in the midst of a pandemic last year. Ford’s overall sales were also down 26.9 percent year over year. Still, one slow month for the F-series is just a blip on the radar—with 362,032 units sold in the first half of the year, F-series sales are down only 1.5 percent overall.
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The news emerged in late August: Tesla was offering a chance for electric-car buyers who’d ordered a Model 3 Standard Range+ to get their car sooner. That same month, it emerged that orders placed for less expensive Model 3s wouldn’t be filled until 2022. And the same went as well for Standard Range Tesla Model Y versions. (Last month, Tesla renamed the Standard Range models, which are now simply called Rear Wheel Drive.)The new option would allow Tesla to deliver its least expensive Model 3 cars more quickly, at a penalty of just 10 miles on EPA range ratings: 253 miles vs 263 miles—for the same sticker price. In turn, it could presumably shift more of its traditional battery packs to the hot-selling Model Y compact crossover. Until this summer, all Model 3s and Model Ys sold in North America had been powered by batteries with thousands of small cylindrical cells, using a nickel-cobalt-aluminum (or NCA) chemistry, from Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory. The new pack not only uses a different chemistry known as lithium-iron-phosphate (or LiFP), but the cells themselves were prismatic—meaning the contents of the battery casing were entirely different.The substitute pack is hardly an unknown quantity. Prismatic-cell battery packs are by far the most predominant in China. As analysts and Tesla owners noted, it’s used in all Standard Range Tesla models built at the company’s Shanghai factory. The China plant also exports lower-range Tesla models to Europe.Tesla had forecast this shift during its Battery Day event in September, at which CEO Elon Musk suggested the company might use LiFP for lower-cost models. As it works to reduce the amount of expensive cobalt in its cells—as GM has done, with 70 percent less cobalt in the upcoming Ultium cells it jointly developed with LG Chem—it will attempt to put more nickel into future chemistry. LiFP cells are less energy-dense than nickel- and cobalt-based cells, though the difference today is lower than it was a few years ago. And offsetting the 4 percent drop in EPA-rated range is the ability to charge LiFP batteries to 100 percent of usable capacity, whereas the recommendation for NCA packs is to recharge to no more than 90 percent under most circumstances. So for many buyers, the trade is pretty much a wash. But aside from delivering more cars sooner, why would Tesla offer a lower-range battery? The company built its reputation out of the box on selling EVs with much longer ranges than other makers. Aside from a Canada-only lower-cost Model 3 with 94 miles of range, only one other Tesla ever sold has had a range lower than 160 miles, and that range was delivered only by a single version of the Model S that proved so unpopular it was dropped within months. The answer lies in the complicated interplay among battery-metal supplies, cell-production constraints, and China’s ambition to dominate sales of electric cars globally.

Cobalt is at the heart of virtually all the battery cells in EVs sold in North America. We require long range, and cobalt cells are simply more energy-dense. Cobalt is also in great demand, increasingly expensive, and comes from some very problematic places. On top of that, China has made a determined effort over 20 years to lock up the largest share of global cobalt—and massive share all of the processing capability that turns cobalt metal into materials that can be used in batteries. A recent two-part series in The New York Times lays out the global politics, the international intrigue, and the surging global demand in useful detail.Iron ore, on the other hand, is far less valuable, found on every continent, and has been a global commodity almost since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Some EV analysts suggest that as all battery chemistries improve in energy density, we’ll see a bifurcation in available batteries: LiFP will be used in lower-range models and lower-cost entries, while more luxurious and longer-range EVs stick with more expensive cobalt chemistries.If that comes to pass, Tesla may prove to be a pioneer in that respect. It is now the first company selling EVs in volume to offer LiFP-powered electric cars in the U.S. But it’ll be far from the last.

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VW has announced pricing for the new 2022 Taos subcompact crossover.It starts at $24,190 and ranges up to above $35,000 for a fully loaded SEL Premium 4Motion model.The Taos will go on sale in the U.S. in June.Volkswagen’s new entry-level crossover, the 2022 Taos, carries a starting price of $24,190 for a front-wheel-drive model in its base S trim level. Not coincidentally, that’s the exact same starting price as the soon-to-be-discontinued 2021 Golf hatchback that it effectively replaces. We were also surprised to see that certain Taos models are close in price to the larger Tiguan SUV. The Taos SE, for instance, starts at $28,440, which is just $150 less than the more spacious, more powerful 2021 Tiguan SE.

All 2022 Taos models come standard with a 158-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four, front-wheel drive, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. 4Motion all-wheel drive is optional on all three trim levels and costs between $1450 and $2045 extra, and it necessitates a switch to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.The top SEL trim level starts at $32,685 and comes in at $35,440 with the boxes checked for all-wheel drive and a $1200 panoramic sunroof. Other options for the lower trim levels include a driver-assistance package called IQ.Drive that costs $995 for the S trim and $895 for the SE trim.VW says that the Taos will go on sale at U.S. dealerships starting in June.
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