THE VW CRISIS HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RACING WORLD TOO.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. You can read all about my take on the VW diesel shitstorm in my recent two "Rant" columns, here and here, but any thoughts that the crisis will be confined to VW and Audi's mainstream car operations is simply unrealistic. It will have serious implications for their racing programs in play as well.

First of all, the rumored Audi departure from the FIA-WEC's prototype class for F1 can no longer be considered a rumor. After spending the better part of a decade promoting its "clean" TDI-powered racing machines while using the "Truth In Engineering" advertising theme, you can bet that Audi will quietly - as quietly as being involved in F1 can be anyway - slink off to F1 leaving the whole TDI thing and its now tainted ad slogan behind. As I said in my Rant, this is such a national embarrassment to the VW Group and to Audi, that any residual thoughts that their Le Mans program would survive is simply a non-starter.

But there are further implications at work here as well. It's clear that Audi, Porsche and VW (as well as BMW and Mercedes) are in a headlong rush toward electrification. The pressure of international emissions standards is weighing heavily on all of their future product programs, and the answer is pointing to almost full electrification for their production cars. Yes, there will be hybrids for a transition period and some ultra high-performance machines will retain ICEs, but after showing two advanced all-electric concepts at the Frankfurt Motor Show - the Audi e-tron quattro and the stunning Porsche Mission-E Concept - it's clear that the German automakers are going all-in for full electrification.

And with this crisis threatening to swallow the VW Group whole and taint the entire German auto industry, you can bet that they will fight their way out of this mess the only way they know how - with innovation and technical excellence. Will this affect their racing involvement as well? It has to. I can imagine F1 remaining untouched - for now - but some of the other series will see changes, and soon. I can see for instance the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) going to hybrid power systems, and other classes as well where it seems applicable and (somewhat) affordable.

But the big question mark is the future of Formula E and Formula 1. How long will it take - once the electrified production cars take hold - before the notion of Formula E outgrows its current Sideshow Bob status and becomes something... more?

I will answer that. I believe that Formula E - in a much higher voltage form - will somehow become blended into F1 by 2022. Which means that the FIA-WEC's top prototype class may become fully electrified as well. With the issues of electric cars - range and recharging time being the most prominent - still in play, I can see a future where racing will be used to solve these problems in an accelerated fashion, much like I envisioned HERF doing the same for hydrogen-powered electric production cars.

Needless to say The Future of Racing is going to get very interesting, whether we're ready for it or not.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

Editor's Note: For more racing news and photos, check out "The Line." -WG 

Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD
(Photo courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Indianapolis, Indiana, 1963. Colin Chapman watches as mechanics make engine adjustments to Dan Gurney's 1963 Lotus-Ford after a practice run at The Speedway.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD