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The Drive 🤝 your inbox. Every weekday The Daily Brief wraps up the biggest stories and our exclusive reporting on the auto industry and car culture. A Figure 8 race at the Indianapolis Speedrome—not to be confused with the big Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is 24 miles to its east—ended with an arrest after an on-track incident led to a physical scuffle and one of the drivers allegedly swerved into the other’s pit crew. This is a rather complex situation, so please bear with me here. It all went down Sunday in the closing minutes of the 50th Annual 3-Hour…

The Li i9 flagship electric SUV starts at 369,800 yuan ($54,680) in China and offers a CLTC range of 705 km. Credit: Li Auto The Li i9 comes only in a Home trim, priced just 8.8% above the top-spec Li i8, with more space and swiveling seats. The new model offers a CLTC range of 705 km and comes standard with steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering. Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) on Wednesday launched its new flagship battery electric SUV (sport utility vehicle), the Li i9, expanding its premium EV lineup with a roomier family cabin. The 6-seat SUV comes only in…

Automotive The McLaren Artura may be approaching the end of a surprisingly short run. A new report claims McLaren plans to discontinue its hybrid supercar in 2028, which would give the Artura roughly six years on the market after customer deliveries finally began in 2022. McLaren has not officially announced the model’s departure, so there is still some uncertainty surrounding the timing, but the move would fit with a much larger reshuffling of the company’s lineup that is already underway. The Artura was always an important car for McLaren, even if its arrival was anything but smooth. It…

Tesla is putting its Cybercab on public display in China this week, but the company wants to be clear about one thing it isn’t: a vehicle it plans to sell there. Tesla China said the showcase “does not involve” selling the Cybercab in the Chinese market or launching a driverless ride-hailing service — even as China’s own robotaxi operators run paid rides at scale. The static displays open September 17. The Cybercab will sit in Tesla’s Huamao experience store in Beijing through September 27, and in the LG1 north hall of HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai through September 21. It’s…

E-waste from the AI boom has been vastly underestimated, a new report warns. By 2050, it could become enough trash to fill 23 million shipping containers — roughly enough 40-foot containers to circle the world six times if lined up in a row.It’s a significantly higher estimate of AI’s e-waste than previous studies have found because the authors of the new report factor in all the infrastructure needed to support servers in data centers. The broader scope provides a clearer picture of junk AI leaves behind, according to the nonprofit Basel Action Network (BAN), which published the paper today.”AI may…

Remember the days when buying a luxury car equipped with a six-cylinder meant you were likely getting a mid-range model? Now, Mercedes-Benz is taking its six-cylinder engine and continuously moving it further up the food chain into performance-oriented models, leaving higher-spec C-Classes to make do with a turbocharged four-cylinder. For those who don’t want to spend Mercedes-AMG money, this means that, in order to pick up a six-cylinder C-Class without the performance badge attached to it, their best bet is to dip into the used market. The outgoing C43, the BMW 340i, and the Audi S4 largely represent the final,…

Several employees have said they’re leaving the studio. Build A Rocket Boy Build A Rocket Boy (BARB), the developer of the widely maligned action-adventure game MindsEye, appears to be shutting down. Several employees wrote on LinkedIn that their time at the studio is “coming to an end,” and Kotaku reported that BARB is set to close its doors for good. “With a very heavy heart I raise my green banner, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy. I am ‘Open to Work’ actively looking for a new adventure,” BARB’s principal talent…

The Drive 🤝 your inbox. Every weekday The Daily Brief wraps up the biggest stories and our exclusive reporting on the auto industry and car culture. California Senate Bill 1392, known as “Leno’s Law” after the car-loving comedian’s endorsement, was designed to ease emissions restrictions on classic cars without allowing for egregious pollution in the Golden State. As of today, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed it. Before you go celebrating, though, know that nothing actually changes right away—the exemption doesn’t start phasing in until January 1, 2028. When it does, it’ll give some old-car owners in CA a bit of…

The Fang Cheng Bao Formula S electric sedan starts at 189,900 yuan ($28,080) in China. Credit: Fang Cheng Bao) The Formula S series starts at 189,900 yuan ($28,080), marking Fang Cheng Bao’s entry into the sedan market. The Formula S and Formula S GT offer maximum CLTC ranges of 900 km and 850 km, respectively, with flash charging standard across the lineup. BYD’s (HKEX: 1211) personalization-focused brand Fang Cheng Bao has launched its Formula S series, entering China’s fiercely competitive electric sedan market at prices below its earlier pre-sales range. The brand launched the Formula S sedan and Formula S…

A family in Georgia is taking JLR to court. A new lawsuit is looking for millions in damages after a family home was destroyed in a fire. A fire the suit claims was caused by their Range Rover catching fire while parked. It puts the blame in the case on the vehicle’s infotainment system. Fire Destroyed Family Home On Christmas Eve 2017 Range RoverRange Rover The hits really stacked up for the Mitchell family, including their five kids aged 12-21. The fire that burned their home to the ground took place while the family was trying to sell the home.…