MUNICH—Later this summer, Audi will unveil its new flagship model. In the past, that role had been filled by the A8, but that was before SUVs found so much favor; even in Europe, a majority of car buyers now swing that way. But forget Europe for a moment. The new Q9 is Audi’s first full-size SUV, underscoring the importance of the North American market. Late in development, the company even redesigned the cupholders to fit those giant insulated mugs that briefly became a retail obsession.

We can only show this exterior-camouflaged Q9 for now, but the photos show the production interior. Or at least that’s one of the possible trims; if you want the interior to evoke more of an Endor or Tatooine feel rather than Mustafar, there are beiges and browns, including an interesting open-grain olive wood alternative to the coarse carbon fiber you see here. The mix of different textures really helps elevate the Q9’s interior, which leaves glossy finishes behind in favor of matte wherever possible.

The view up front was inspired by the way the brand’s 2021 Grandsphere concept wrapped its dash around front seat occupants. The Grandsphere didn’t have to rely on actually available technology, and it didn’t bother with screens for the future it was imagined for. The Q9 doesn’t have that luxury, but it does have acres of digital real estate. The main instrument display and infotainment screens curve around the driver, but they aren’t particularly tall, so you have a clear view down the hood over the interaction light that runs along the base of the windshield and provides an additional visual cue when you use your turn signals or hazard lights.

“When you close the car… what we wanted to create is it’s calming you down in a way and giving this kind of luxury approach that everything is controlled, everything’s floating, everything is quiet and everything is in its place,” explained Audi designer Chris Koelle.

Here’s the Q9 from the driver’s seat.

Audi

Here’s the Q9 from the driver’s seat. Audi

This door card rivals the excellent Lexus LC in how interesting it is to touch.

Audi

This door card rivals the excellent Lexus LC in how interesting it is to touch. Audi

There are two wireless chargers, as well as 100 W USB-C ports. More USB-C ports are available for the second and third rows.

Audi

There are two wireless chargers, as well as 100 W USB-C ports. More USB-C ports are available for the second and third rows. Audi

This door card rivals the excellent Lexus LC in how interesting it is to touch. Audi

There are two wireless chargers, as well as 100 W USB-C ports. More USB-C ports are available for the second and third rows. Audi

Virtual Cockpit finds its mojo again

I was pleased to see that a moving map view is once again an option for the main instrument display. Audi pioneered this feature with its Virtual Cockpit, but it has been curiously missing from several recent models we’ve driven. Then again, it’s also present in the new Q3, which lives at the very other end of Audi’s SUV range. The Q3 and Q9 also share the same not-stalks that you use to turn on the turn signals and wipers (left side) and engage park/drive/reverse (right side). The action of using them to flick on the wipers or the lights is basically identical to a conventional stalk.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/take-a-look-inside-audis-new-big-three-row-q9-suv/

The electric motor can siphon power from the V6 to recharge the battery (a process called super clipping), but any power that goes that route can’t drive the rear wheels, which could create dangerous speed differentials on track, we were told.

Sadly, those warnings proved mostly correct, as was all too clear at the Japanese Grand Prix in March. Refreshingly, there appears to be no defensiveness on the part of the FIA or other stakeholders but rather a desire to respond to the complaints.

2027

The FIA, the teams, the power unit manufacturers, and F1 Management (which controls the commercial side) have agreed—although technically only on principle so far—that for next year, the V6 will become more powerful by 50 kW (67 hp) and the electric motor will be able to deploy 50 kW less, rebalancing the power split to 450 kW (603 hp) from the V6 and 300 kW (402 hp) from the motor-generator unit. The increase in V6 power will be achieved by increasing the engine’s fuel flow.

With less electrical power to deploy, the cars should maintain a higher state of charge throughout a lap. And if the power unit does require some super clipping, the additional V6 output leaves more power available to keep the car driving, reducing those speed differentials. Some other changes are apparently still in discussion. The amount that the electric motor can harvest from the V6 could increase above 350 kW, and the battery capacity could be increased from 4 MJ to 5 MJ.

There are still tradeoffs, though. Absent all of the synthetic fuel partners finding an extra 10 percent energy density in their fuels in the next few months, more powerful V6s with greater fuel flow will either need larger fuel tanks or shorter races. Larger fuel tanks would be preferable; if the races are shorter, everyone from F1TV subscribers to team sponsors might start wondering where their 10 percent refund is. But a larger fuel tank means a redesigned chassis that will now also be bigger and heavier—a trend the 2026 rules finally managed to reverse.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/f1-set-for-another-engine-tweak-in-2027-and-whats-this-about-v8s/

But the world looks quite different in 2026. Electrification might still be on for the masses in China and Europe, but the people who buy cars with price tags that look more like telephone numbers don’t want all-electric hypercars.

The good times aren’t rolling

Then there’s the parlous state of VW Group itself. Porsche is not having the best time of things after betting too heavily on EVs, which looks even worse in the vital US market thanks to Trump’s tariffs. Sales were down 15 percent in Q1 2026, the company reported earlier this month. At the VW Group level, CEO Oliver Blume (formerly Porsche’s CEO before his promotion) told Manager Magazin earlier this week that overall capacity across VW Group brands would be cut by a million of cars a year and that tens of thousands of job losses were forecast over the next few years.

So Porsche is selling its stake in Bugatti Rimac, as well as its stake in Rimac Group, to a consortium of investors led by HOF Capital.

“In setting up the joint venture Bugatti Rimac together with Rimac Group, we successfully laid the foundation for Bugatti’s future,” said Porsche CEO Dr. Michael Leiters. “And as an early-stage investor of Rimac Group, Porsche made a significant contribution to developing Rimac Technology into an established Tier-1 automotive technology company. Now, with the sale of our stake, we demonstrate that we will focus Porsche on the core business. We would like to thank Mate Rimac and his team for the constructive and trusting cooperation over the past years.”

“Porsche has been a crucial partner, and we are deeply grateful for their role in establishing Bugatti Rimac,” said Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac. “With the strong foundations their support has provided, we now have a structure that allows us to execute even faster on our long-term vision. We look forward to our collaboration with our new partners.”

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/as-electric-aspirations-fade-porsche-sells-its-stake-in-bugatti/

The greater harvesting limit also applies during the races, and there are new rules on how much power the electric motor (better known in the sport as an MGU-K, or motor-generator unit-kinetic) can send to the rear wheels.

In “key acceleration zones (from corner exit to braking point, including overtaking zones)” the MGU-K will be able to deploy its full 350 kW (469 hp) to complement the V6’s 400 kW (536 hp). Outside of those zones, the MGU-K is limited to just 250 kW (335 hp) around the lap, which means smaller speed differentials. And the boost—which drivers can engage if they’re within a second of a car in front—is capped at an extra 150 kW (201 hp) now.

Those changes should also mean F1 drivers spend a little less of their time worrying about energy management, although their hybrid powertrains remain governed by algorithms that have shown the potential to be unpredictable. Lap times will be slower than they otherwise might, but the powers that be hope these tweaks are enough to quell criticism that has been growing since preseason testing in February. They’ll also be hoping the changes don’t ruin the action we’ve seen during the last three races—lest people forget, the pre-hybrid era had loud and dynamic cars but precious little overtaking (and so, so many mechanical breakdowns).

There are also changes that will be tested at the start of the Miami race to ameliorate the problem of a car failing to get off the line (and therefore being dangerously slow) because of a problem on the formation lap. If the “low power start detection” system detects a car making too little power off the line, the system will make that car’s warning lights flash and also trigger full MGU-K deployment; in normal conditions, the MGU-K only joins the fun above 50 km/h (31 mph), so it isn’t used in the first phase of a race start.

The FIA will see whether that works before making the change permanent for the rest of the 2026 season. Additionally, there are some tweaks for racing in the rain, including hotter tire blankets for wet tires, a lower deployment limit for the MGU-K if it’s wet, and simpler visual cues from the cars’ rain lights.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/f1-new-hybrid-rules-will-come-into-effect-at-the-miami-grand-prix-in-may/

Whether you’re considering an electric vehicle because of gas prices or climate change, there has probably never been a better time to buy a used EV, despite that the Trump administration abolished the used clean vehicle tax credit last year. When we started this ongoing series looking at used EV options, the initial idea was to see what was available at bargain-basement prices. But today we’re looking at the $20,000–$25,000 bracket, and we’re firmly out of the basement, with thousands of EVs across the country to choose from.

If you’re only spending $5,000 on an EV, you’re looking at much older models with smaller batteries that never had that much range even when new. But at four or five times that sum, the net casts much, much wider. Buyers can start being a little choosy here, particularly as ex-lease cars begin filling dealership lots this year.

For those in the market, it helps that EVs face lower residuals than equivalent hydrocarbon-powered cars. All those incentives given to the original purchaser are passed along to future owners, but according to a Deloitte report, EV residuals are underperforming even more than expected. While I might expect most Ars Technica readers to see the potential, “many US consumers remain cautious about range, charge time, price, battery replacement cost, and public charging access,” says Deloitte. Changing that will require automakers and car salespeople to do a much better job explaining battery longevity and range, according to the consulting company.

The above isn’t great if you’re trying to sell an EV, but it’s good news if you’re in the market to buy one. You’ll get more car for the same outlay—a better spec, newer model year, or fewer miles already on the odometer versus spending the same money on something that needs gasoline.

A new price cap of $25,000 also means you can afford to start being picky about which badge the car wears: Do you want something mainstream, maybe with lower mileage, or perhaps something plusher or more premium?

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/25000-buys-plenty-of-used-evs-here-are-some-options/

The electric pickup startup Slate Auto started the week well. This morning, it announced it has raised $650 million in its latest funding round.

Slate is a refreshing outlier among the aspiring new electric vehicle OEMs. Lucid debuted with an electric sedan that intended to move the game on from the Tesla Model S. Rivian said, “What if [we had] supercar suspension and a smiley face for an EV with serious off-road skills?” Both arguably succeeded. Sony Honda Mobility wanted to make the EV a true digital content hub, at least until one half of that joint venture called time—who knows how that project would have turned out, although I suspect sales would have been underwhelming.

But Slate, which got its start in 2022, is doing things differently. It’s not starting sales with something near six-figures; far from it. The abolishment of the federal clean vehicle tax credit was no doubt inconvenient—with it, a sub-$20,000 starting price was possible, but even at “mid-$20,000s” the Slate Truck should match or undercut the Ford Maverick XL, currently the cheapest pickup on sale in the US.

Slate is taking a radical approach to meet that price. It will be assembled from just 600 parts, a tenth the amount of normal pickup trucks. The body panels are plastic and unpainted, and so there’s no need for stamping or a paint shop. Each truck will be built at the company’s Warsaw, Indiana, factory in the same blank configuration: two doors, manual windows, and no infotainment or touchscreens. People on the Internet have been saying for some time now that they want to buy something uncomplicated and bare-bones, and Slate Auto is taking them at their word.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/slate-auto-raises-650-million-as-production-gets-closer-and-closer/

While lifting and coasting, the car’s brain tells the V6 to keep revving, and it siphons off 350 kW to the battery. But there’s another way the engine can recharge the battery that happens when the driver’s foot is still flat on the throttle. F1 calls this “super clipping,” and while it’s happening, the car’s power output at the rear wheels is significantly curtailed—any power going to the battery can’t go to the rear wheels, and the V6 only has 400 kW to offer. So super clipping has been capped at 200 kW, leaving the other 200 kW (268 hp) to push the car.

So sometimes an F1 car has 750 kW (1,005 hp), sometimes it has 400 kW, and sometimes it might just have 200 kW.

As will the other 21 cars on track, but not in any coordinated way. The software that governs the hybrid systems is capricious, and it decides when to initiate super clipping, and when to ramp up or ramp down power from the MGU based on how much it has already expended on the lap and how much it thinks it will need.

What’s the problem?

The new engine regs were created to get automakers more enthused about the sport, back before so many of them started pulling back on electric vehicles. It worked: Audi, Cadillac, and Honda signed on to join Ferrari and Mercedes. But as I’ve described above, the new formula means that the cars are energy-starved during a lap, particularly during qualifying when the aim is to drive the car right at its very limit.

As we saw in Japan, this has effectively neutered all of F1’s fast corners, because you can reach a shorter overall lap time by using that energy elsewhere. There’s no real problem with lift and coast during a race—as noted before, it’s already common practice in IndyCar and endurance racing. But in qualifying, that’s another matter, and watching the cars lifting and coasting through the 130R corner at Suzuka in Japan was something that demoralized virtually every race fan this author knows. Driving it seems to be worse: McLaren’s Lando Norris described it as “soul destroying.”

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/f1-moves-a-step-closer-to-fixing-its-2026-hybrid-problem/

“The Chattanooga plant has been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of Volkswagen’s strategy in the United States,” said VW Group of America president and CEO Kjell Gruner. “This strategic shift underscores the company’s commitment to Chattanooga and its workforce as we position the plant for long-term success and future product opportunities.”

If you still want an ID.4, VW says it has sufficient inventory at dealers “to support customer demand into 2027,” and the post-refresh models are both more powerful but also more efficient than earlier cars.

But it does leave the prospect of VW not having any electric cars to sell at some point; in December, the company revealed it was selling so few ID.Buzz minivans that it would simply not bother with a model year 2026 at all, ceasing imports. (In retrospect, that really does make this one of the worst headlines of my entire career.)

In this case, VW says “a future version of the ID.4 is currently planned for the North American market; details will be shared at a later time.” If and when that car appears, it may well be rebadged as the ID.Tiguan.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/volkswagen-ends-id-4-production-in-tennessee-to-build-atlas-suv/

It won’t be long before Rivian starts delivering the first of its new R2 SUVs to the lucky owners. After wowing everyone with its R1S and R1T, the startup is ready to enter more mainstream market segments, first with the midsize R2 this year. Last month, we got pricing and trim details for the new electric SUV: $57,990 for the R2 Performance, the only version that will be available until the $53,990 R2 Premium goes on sale in late 2026.

Both of these R2s use the same spec battery with a capacity of 87.9 kWh. At the time, Rivian said it expected at least 330 miles (531 km) of range from these models on 21-inch tires. But it seems that details of the actual Environmental Protection Agency range certification have leaked and were posted to the Rivian Forums. And from those documents, we now know that, when fitted with 21-inch wheels and performance, the official EPA range estimate will be 335 miles (539 km).

The testing also generated an official EPA range estimate for the R2 when fitted with smaller 20-inch wheels. Usually, fitting smaller wheels to an EV increases range because the rotation of each wheel causes a lot of drag that saps range, and smaller, narrower wheels disturb less air. But in this case, the 20-inch wheels drop the EPA range estimate down to 314 miles (505 km), thanks to the knobby all-terrain tires.

Once other trims become available, we should get additional EPA range data on smaller wheels with all-purpose (as opposed to all-terrain) tires, as well as the $45,000 version with a smaller battery that isn’t due until late 2027.

There were some other interesting details in the R2 document. The pack capacity is listed as 86.8 kWh, slightly lower than the 87.9 kWh in the official Rivian specs. The maximum DC fast-charging rate is 210 kW, and max level 2 AC charging is 11.5 kW. A heat pump is also standard and is improved from the one in the R1.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/rivian-r2-epa-certification-leaked-gets-335-miles-of-range/

When it comes to automotive bragging rights, a good Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time is right up there with the best of them. And today, those bragging rights belong to Ford. The automaker revealed that its GT Mk IV, an evolution of the mid-engined supercar it created in 2016, is now the fastest production car to ever lap the 12.9-mile (20.8-km) race track in Germany, with a time of 6 minutes, 15.997 seconds set by Frédéric Vervisch.

The century-old racetrack in Germany’s Eifel region was built during the Great Depression as a way to create jobs but also to provide Germany’s car industry with a place to test its products. In addition to races, it was—and remains—open to the public for leisure driving.

Well, for some definition of leisure: The place isn’t known as the Green Hell for nothing, with hundreds of feet of elevation change across 12.9 miles (20.8 km) and between 73–170 corners, depending how you count them. After years of driving it online, I got my first laps there last summer and can report that in real life, it is bumpy and narrow, and I’d need another hundred laps or so before I started to feel properly comfortable.

The Ford team poses with the Mk IV after a successful attempt.

Drew Gibson

The Ford team poses with the Mk IV after a successful attempt. Drew Gibson

This is now the fastest car around the ‘Ring that you can buy.

Drew Gibson

This is now the fastest car around the ‘Ring that you can buy. Drew Gibson

The Ford GT was developed by Ford together with Multimatic.

Drew Gibson

The Ford GT was developed by Ford together with Multimatic. Drew Gibson

This is now the fastest car around the ‘Ring that you can buy. Drew Gibson

The Ford GT was developed by Ford together with Multimatic. Drew Gibson

Which would still leave Vervisch on another plane. Along with his teammates, he won the 24 Hour race here in 2019 and 2022 and now has the outright fourth-fastest lap time across the Nordschleife; only Volkswagen’s battery-electric ID.R (6:05.336, driven by Romain Dumas in 2019) and Porsche’s hybrid 919 Evo (5:19.546 driven by Timo Bernhard in 2018) have gone faster this century, both beating Stefan Bellof’s 1984 qualifying time of 6:11.13, set in a Porsche 956 Group C race car. (Because Bellof’s time was set in qualifying, some don’t count it among the official records, so Ford can officially claim the GT Mk IV is the third-fastest car around the ‘Ring.)

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/a-production-ford-sets-third-fastest-time-ever-at-the-nurburgring/