In today's issue:
Audi's first hybrid supercar since the R8: 987 hp, 499 units, and a Lamborghini engine
Ford offered employee pricing to everyone, then watched May sales drop 13.6%
FTC-warned dealers had twice the bait-and-switch complaints of the broader industry
THE REVIVAL LAP
Audi unveiled the Nuvolari, its most powerful production car ever: a mid-engine PHEV coupe making 987 hp and 1,660 lb-ft of torque from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and three electric motors, per Automotive News.
The platform is shared with the Lamborghini Temerario, giving the Nuvolari a family tree the R8 never had; it also clears 217 mph and hits 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, per Carscoops.
Production is capped at 499 units; Audi has not confirmed pricing, but estimates cluster around €600,000 (~$686,000), per Newsweek and HiConsumption; the body is full carbon fiber.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner called it "a statement for the future of the brand," per Autocar UK, at a moment when Audi's global sales have been sliding and the marque needed a halo product.
Named for Italian racing legend Tazio Nuvolari and confirmed for 2027 showrooms, per Jalopnik.
Audi spent years watching the R8 play second fiddle to every Gallardo and Huracán its Lamborghini sibling produced. The Nuvolari borrows the Temerario's powertrain but pushes output beyond it, which means the hierarchy has officially flipped.
Also worth knowing
Ford Offered Employee Pricing to Everyone, and Sales Still Fell 13.6%: Ford and Lincoln combined sold 190,828 vehicles in May, down 13.6% year-over-year, per Autoblog, despite the broadest employee-pricing promotion the brand has run. EV sales dropped 43.9%, hybrid sales fell 15.7%, and ICE sales were down 12.3%, per CBT News. The promotion that was supposed to move metal turned into a preview of demand weakness that cuts across every powertrain. #market
FTC-Warned Dealers Had Twice the Bait-and-Switch Complaints, and Listing Sites Are Now Reacting: A Widewail study found that FTC-warned dealerships generated financing and bait-and-switch complaints at twice the industry rate, with 72% of warned stores carrying at least one financing complaint versus 27% industrywide, per CBT News. Cox Automotive paused the "Good/Great Price" badges on AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book, and TrueCar rolled out platform-wide all-in pricing, per CBT News and Carscoops. High star ratings at FTC-warned stores masked the complaint pattern entirely, a gap that the badge pause directly addresses. #news
May US Auto Sales Hit 16.1M SAAR, But Hybrids and EVs Told Different Stories: The May seasonally adjusted annual rate came in at 16.1 million units, per CBT News, with Just Auto reporting 1.48 million units sold, up 0.6% year-over-year despite one fewer selling day. Hybrids continued gaining share as fuel prices stayed elevated; EV demand weakened enough to create potential inventory and pricing pressure for dealers. New-vehicle CPI was already down 0.2% in April per FRED, making this the first real test of whether discounting can hold volume without it. #market
Memory Chip Crunch Is the Auto Industry's Next Supply Chain Problem: Automakers and dealers are warning that surging demand for memory chips from data-center buildouts is squeezing automotive supply and pushing up production costs, per The Drive and CBT News. Industry groups have flagged that tighter semiconductor availability may eventually translate into higher sticker prices for buyers. The tariff conversation has consumed most of the bandwidth on vehicle affordability, but the chip squeeze is a second, quieter pressure building at the same time. #analyst
Reveals & culture
2027 Mercedes-Benz S680 Guard: Factory-Armored V12 S-Class with VR10 Protection: Mercedes revealed a factory-built armored S680 with VR10 ballistic protection, a twin-turbo V12, run-flat tires, and a visual profile indistinguishable from a standard S-Class, per MotorTrend. The point is the stealth: buyers who need VR10 protection generally prefer not to advertise the fact.
Spy Shots Suggest Mercedes Promised V8 to the Mythos, Then Leaked It to the CLE 63: Mercedes told the world its twin-turbo V8 was reserved for the exclusive Mythos CLE. Spy photographers then caught a standard CLE 63 prototype, suggesting the V8 will reach a wider, more affordable audience after all, per Carscoops and Autoblog.
Recalls & legal action
NHTSA Opens Investigation Into 115,000 Rivian R1S SUVs Over Rear Toe Links That Cause Sudden Swerving: NHTSA is investigating approximately 115,000 model year 2023-2024 Rivian R1S SUVs after two complaints described rear toe link separations causing vehicles to swerve suddenly across multiple lanes, per CarComplaints. No recall has been issued; the probe is in the preliminary evaluation stage. Owners who have experienced unexpected handling changes should document the incident with NHTSA before a formal action opens the window for broader data collection.
Quick links
Skoda Peaq: Seven-Seat Electric Flagship Debuts June 23, Up to 373 Miles Claimed: Skoda released official design sketches of the Peaq ahead of a full reveal, targeting up to 295 hp and 373 miles of range for its three-row EV flagship, per Carscoops and Autocar UK.
Waymo's Spent Robotaxi Batteries Get a Second Life on the Power Grid: Waymo struck a supply agreement with B2U Storage Solutions to repurpose decommissioned EV battery packs as stationary grid storage, potentially yielding hundreds of megawatt-hours of capacity, per Ars Technica.
BYD Becomes First Automaker to Warranty Its Own ADAS Performance: BYD launched a warranty that takes on some liability if its driver assistance technology causes an incident, making it the first manufacturer to formally backstop its own ADAS, per CleanTechnica. The coverage terms are narrower than the headline implies, but the precedent is new.
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