The 2021 Detroit Auto Show Will Happen in Late September

Welcome to The Grid, R&T’s quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.

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Plus, Rolls-Royce’s electric future and Porsche’s puzzling lack of pace at Le Mans.

The Detroit Auto Show Changes Dates for a Second Time

Organizers for the Detroit Auto Show originally planned to hold this year’s event in June, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was called off. Now, instead of holding 2021’s iteration of the show during the summer, planners have announced the event will take place from September 28 to October 9, and stay that way going forward.

That would put the Detroit Auto Show just one month before the Los Angeles Auto Show, which usually happens in November. But earlier this month, organizers for that show moved next year’s event to late May. We bet automakers are going to have a tough time keeping up with these date changes.

Rolls-Royce Will Launch an Electric Car This Decade

The ultra-luxury carmaker is planning to release its first fully electric vehicle “within this decade,” CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös confirmed to Automotive News Europe in an interview.

The company plans to skip over plug-in hybrids in favor of a full electric drivetrains because it “fits perfectly” with the brand. The car is currently under development, and will use the same Aluminum chassis as the rest of the current Rolls lineup. While there isn’t demand from customers for an EV, Müller-Ötvös says the carmaker “need(s) to be in a position to sell them a car if legislation forbids them from driving a combustion engine car into the center of a city.”

Porsche Is Still Confused About its Lack of Speed at Le Mans

The German factory team’s two GTE-Pro entries finished a surprise 5th and 6th at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans after one of its cars started on pole for the class. The car’s setup remained the same, but a lack of straight-line speed allowed the factory Aston Martins and AF Corse Ferraris to walk away with the podium.

“From my point of view the car was well-balanced, but we were just missing acceleration,” Porsche factory driver Gianmaria Bruni told Autosport. “We didn’t change anything from Friday until Saturday, but there’s a big difference.”

The team also blamed the lack of a pre-event test, which usually takes place leading up to the 24-hour race, but didn’t this year due to the pandemic.

“We were clearly lacking a lot of pace,” driver Laurens Vanthoor told Autosport. We were very good in the corners, but too slow on the straights. It’s difficult to explain the reasons, but the fact is that from our side we didn’t do the job 100% the way we should have done.”

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