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The 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona: What we learned, what we saw

Two days after the flag dropped on the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, people are still trying to figure out what it might portend for the rest of the season. In 24 hours, two minutes and 24 seconds, 695 laps were completed by the car that crossed the line first. During that time, 67 cars began the race, 18 of them retired. There was that accident, and a red flag. There were supposedly slower classes beating supposedly faster classes. There were 16 caution periods, including that yellow flag. And then there was The Decision. And Then The Uproar. And then The Reversal.
There was also some pretty good racing, so let's have one last look at the weekend. Oh, and there was that 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO Series II...
If you want to skip the reading bits and go to the photos, there's a high-res gallery of 158 images above and a couple more below. Enjoy.

Audi pits Star Trek's new Spock versus the original

The only thing that makes a sci-fi geek happier than William Shatner and Patrick Stewart in the same room is when two Spocks collide. Audi has somehow managed to do just that ahead of the release of the second film in this historic franchise's new go-round called Star Trek Into Darkness, which opens in theaters nationwide on May 17th.
We won't spoil the fun (you can, and should, watch it yourself below), suffice it say that the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, steals the show from the franchise's new Spock, Zachary Quinto. The short video has the two Vulcans battling wits in a series of challenges that quickly comes to involve cars, but Audi manages to outwit them both in the final scene by leaving these logical beings with an emotion that resembles amazement.
This is the second summer blockbuster that Audi has tied its four rings to, the other being Iron Man 3. Whereas Tony Stark's garage and the Marvel universe have more Audis per square mile than people, we aren't expecting to see an Audi logo on the warp drive of the USS Enterprise in this latest Trek tale.

Audi R8 E-Tron back on production map thanks to new battery tech?

Contrary to our October 2012 report, it appears Audi's R8 E-Tron program is back on track, if a report from Australia is to be believed. Drive is reporting that the German brand has changed its mind and won't be sacking the program, despite previously stated concerns about the quality and price of batteries for the R8-based EV.
We last saw the R8 E-Tron prototype in the snows of northern Europe, although footage of the car has been non-existent since that wintry test. This new report claims that a small number of R8 E-Trons will see production, which gels with what we heard back in 2012 and supposed earlier this year. Apparently, some new sort of lithium-ion battery technology has allowed for a drastic increase in range, with rumors of the original 130 miles going up to around 250. According to Drive, this makes the project feasible again.
"Our engineers and technicians are further developing the car and its electric drive system. The range has grown significantly, allowing the potential for a small-scale production," an unnamed, but high-ranking Audi employee told the Aussies.