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24 Hours of Le Mans live update part one

We tasked surfing journalist Rory Parker to watch this year's live stream of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. What follows is an experiment to experience the world's greatest endurance race from the perspective of a motorsports novice with a profanity-laden stream-of-consciousness writing style. Parker lives in Hawaii and spends far more time spearfishing than behind the wheel of a car. Jump ahead to Part Two here, and Part Three here. Big Money and billionaire hobbyists and rockets on wheels. Jets belching French color smoke overhead. Balance of power fuckery. Plenty of water on the ground this morning. Absurdly expensive motorcars lined up in the pissing rain. Fast twitch lunatics behind the wheel. Chomping at the bit. Let's go let's go let's go! Race hasn't even started, Ford #67 maybe dealing with clutch issues. Karma? That beautiful bastard Brad Pitt's out on the track, waving the tricolor flag. It's a standing start in "Noah's Ark" weather and the 2016 24 hours of Le Mans is go! First lap takes place behind the safety car, finished in a record setting 8 minutes 27 seconds. Wrong kind of record maybe, but this is the first time I've set my mind to watching the whole damn race. Feel like I'm part of history. 3:00 AM on Kauai, a little too early for life. Sucking down coffee like a maniac. Don't fall back asleep. Got my hands on four hours of rest, how much more can I need? Better be enough for the next twenty four hours. Gonna get kinda punchy toward the end. Jason Statham on the scene. Four feet of solid muscle, non-existent hairline. Lovely wife peanut gallery sitting next to me calls him the "best race car drive in the world." Not sure if she's serious. Toss up, could go either way. Statham's a funny guy. Heir to the Bruce Willis comedy action crown. Really good in the movie where the fat comedy lady plays a spy. Ford's on the road. Problems with gearbox pressure, apparently. Nearing a half hour in and the safety car is still on the track. Hellish amounts of water on the ground, in the air. Visibility is garbage. Getting better. Twitter wags, "Not with a bang but a whimper." Just building suspense. Mother Nature felt like killing some people today, race officials need to dial back the drivers until it dries a tad. Normal inclination would've seen 'em flying, guaranteed early lap wrecks. Sad news for that bloodthirsty part of my lizard brain I try and keep suppressed. Good news for humanity. #12 in the pit for a bit.

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.

Audi A5 and S5 Sportbacks look slinky for the Paris Motor Show

Following closely on the heels of the updated Audi A5 and S5 refresh, the German automaker introduced the 2017 Audi A5 and S5 Sportback. The vehicles are set for an official debut at the Paris Motor Show next month and share many of the same exterior touches as the regular coupes. Audi's sportback models are not sold in the US. A spokesman from Audi told Autoblog that the automaker is still deciding whether to bring the vehicles to the US. The A5 and S5 Sportback are aimed at drivers that want the same feel as the coupe with the added functionality of a hatchback – think wagon meets sedan. Besides the extra set of doors, there's very little that differentiates the sportback models from the coupes. The new models are built upon Volkswagen's MLB platform, which makes the car roughly 190 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. European customers will be able to choose between two TFSI and three TDI engines for the A5 Sportback. The engines range from a 2.0-liter inline-four that makes 190 horsepower to a 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel V6 putting out 286 hp. The engines can be paired to a six-speed manual transmission, seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox or an eight-speed tiptronic unit. Front-wheel drive is standard, with all-wheel drive as an available option on two variants. AWD comes standard when opting for the more powerful engines. The vehicles will also feature Audi's new Quattro Ultra all-wheel-drive system that can disconnect the rear wheels to be more fuel efficient. The S5 Sportback is the one enthusiasts will enjoy as it packs a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that's good for 354 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque. Audi claims the S5 Sportback, even with the addition of its new doors, will be able to get to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds, which is the same time as its two-door counterpart. In addition to the diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, the A5 Sportback g-tron will be offered for drivers looking for flexible fuel choices. The g-tron model is powered by a 170-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged-inline-four that can run on Audi e-gas, natural gas or regular gasoline. The exterior design is nearly identical to that of the coupes with Audi's new single frame grille and muscular front end. The rear incorporates a fastback-like design, similar to the one found on the A7, which helps soften the vehicle out – all sport in the front and luxury in the rear.