Good morning and welcome toĀ The Downshift, orĀ TDSĀ for short.
Tight, light, and right as they say in the biz,Ā TDSĀ combs the internet for the latest automotive news from around the globe and gathers it in one spot. Stories are summarized in a sentence or two accompanied by a link for those seeking more information. Happy Friday, letās hit the road.
What Iām driving: The Corvette E-Ray may not technically be long for this world as it transforms into the even more powerful Grand Sport next year, but I have one now and, trust me, this thing doesnāt need more power.
The Volkswagen chapter of Bugattiās history has officially come to a close. Porsche has sold its 45% stake in Bugatti Rimac and 20% in the Rimac Group to a consortium led by New York-based venture capital firm HOF Capital, Porsche and Rimac announced in a joint press release Friday. That leaves Bugattiās product future effectively in Mate Rimacās hands, and Porsche to āfocusā on its ācore business,ā in the words of CEO Michael Leiters.
4ā£ Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa will reportedly focus investment on four of the conglomerateās 14 brandsāJeep, Ram, Peugeot, and FiatāReuters has reported citing individuals familiar.
2026 Kia EV6 pricing is in, and itās up to $5,450 cheaper than last yearās model, starting at $39,445 including destination, according to Car and Driver.
Carvana has bought its seventh Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealership since beginning its brick-and-mortar car sales campaign early last year, Automotive News reports.
Audi is discontinuing the A1 and Q2 as it leaves the domain of smaller, cheaper models, per Autocar. Neither was ever sold here, but the A1 had been on sale since 2010, and even spawned the rare, awesome A1 Quattro.
Hyundai unveiled another new EV just for China at the Beijing Auto Show, called the Ioniq V as Electrek reports. Its design is best described as Prius crossed with a Cybertruck, and I know that sounds horrendous, but itās actually pretty slick-looking.
Also in Beijing, BYDās Fang Chang Bao subsidiary debuted an electric two-seat convertible called the Formula X that is planned for production next year, per CarNewsChina.
Formula 1 has announced a five-year deal with Turkish Grand Prix organizers to bring the sport back to Istanbul Park starting next year.
Weekend Races to Watch:
- WRC Rally Islas Canarias: Thursday, April 23 to Sunday, April 26 on Rally.TV
- NASCAR OāReilly Auto Parts Series at Talladega: Saturday, April 25 at 4 p.m. Eastern on CW
- MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix: Sunday, April 26 at 8 a.m. Eastern on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. Eastern on FOX
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