The discussion will examine:

• Why transparency, communication and trust are important;
• The different definitions of transparency;
• What can happen when trust and transparency break down;
• How companies can improve communication and reduce silos from cultural and toolchain perspectives;
• Where and how data enters the picture;
• Who should have access to data;
• US laws addressing transparency and whistleblower protection.

One of the problems the session will explore is how seemingly reliable test data can lead teams to the wrong conclusions when the conditions behind that data are not properly understood or communicated.

“Weak configuration management can cause teams to compare results from different hardware, software, calibration, equipment or environmental conditions,” Quigley says. “The result may look precise while answering the wrong question.”

Quigley will also highlight the importance of maintaining context as data moves between different tools and systems, particularly as more of these processes become automated.

“Use common identifiers and metadata so context survives movement between tools,” he recommends. “Automate routine transfer but retain human review of meaning, uncertainty and risk.”

Ultimately, the discussion will look beyond the technology itself to consider how organizations can build greater trust in the evidence they generate – and what happens when that trust breaks down.

Join ATTI and Jon M Quigley at Automotive Testing Expo North America, which will take place at the Vision Credit Union Showplace on October 27-29. It’s free to attend – register now

Read Jon’s column in the June edition of ATTI, in which he explores where efforts to achieve an ISO/IEC 17025-ready lab can often fall short

The September edition is due to land very soon, so keep an eye out for it

The original hybrid battery cells used in the P1 were manufactured in 2010. After 16 years of service, numerous units have deteriorated to the point that they must be replaced, otherwise the car will be undriveable.

Project Continuum from V Engineering offers current and future McLaren P1 owners an alternative high-voltage battery solution that improves energy storage and reduces the overall weight of the original battery with no penalty to the existing power delivery. Another key user feature of the new battery is that it offers extended EV range compared with the factory production unit.

Developed in collaboration with engineers involved in the original P1 program, the battery features a glycol-based cooling system with significantly improved heat rejection properties from the newly developed cells. The battery solution is built around a proven, high-performance 21700 lithium battery module engineered to FIA Formula E requirements to offer motorsport-grade technology. The plug-and-play approach from V Engineering reportedly improves performance and reliability while retaining compatibility with the vehicle’s existing electrical architecture.

Along with the advanced cooling properties of the new battery, design also focused on the energy storage capacity of the new unit, which has been increased to 12.4kWh compared with the standard 4.72kWh of the original P1.

Customer installations are scheduled to begin in spring 2027, with V Engineering currently in discussions with owners from the UK and Europe, the Middle East and the USA.

Project Continuum is the first phase of a broader powertrain development program intended to provide long-term technical support for McLaren P1 owners.

In related news, Agentic AI transforms McLaren Automotive’s entire engineering process

“The Nuvolari project is a striking example of how quickly we at Audi can bring an idea to life – that is ‘vorsprung durch technik,’” said Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. As the OEM states, the new model is much more than a supercar – it guides the way for future Audi developments and provides important impetus for the brand’s technology portfolio.

“The Audi Nuvolari is the fastest and most powerful road car we’ve ever produced,” noted Rouven Mohr, member of the board of management for technical development.

At the same time, the project represents a new kind of collaboration at Audi: from the very beginning, experts in design, vehicle technology, aerodynamics and powertrain worked closely together in an autonomous, focused project team. Short lines of communication, quick decisions and the close integration of all disciplines enabled the development project to move forward at a rapid pace.

“The Audi Nuvolari shows that, when you have the right mindset and close teamwork, you can succeed in delivering rapidly without making any compromises,” added chief creative officer Massimo Frascella.

A development journey across Europe

From the initial designs in Ingolstadt to cold-weather testing with technology demonstrators in Lapland, lightweight construction in Neckarsulm, tests in the Ingolstadt wind tunnel, suspension tuning in southern Spain and high-speed tests in Nardò, Italy, Audi’s engineers worked hand in hand to develop the Nuvolari in record time.

“When the Nuvolari took to the road for the first time, the best part was seeing the expressions on the faces of the people who had developed it,” recalled Döllner. “Seeing something that had existed only as a sketch come to life for the first time was indescribable.”

Final touches with Formula 1 expertise

Four hundred and five days after the initial idea, the project team presented the first driveable prototype. The Audi Revolut F1 drivers then took over testing duties. Gabriel Bortoleto drove the Nuvolari on the high-speed track at the Nardò Technical Center. Before the drive, he stated, “I’m definitely going to push it,” and waxed lyrical about its performance afterward.

At the test track in Neustadt an der Donau, F1 teammate Nico Hülkenberg also pushed the Nuvolari to its limits. “The acceleration and the full system output of more than 1,000ps – that’s a real statement.”

In June 2026, the Audi Nuvolari debuted.

In related news, Audi A2 e-tron racks up the miles during validation testing

Kwon is an autonomous driving AI expert who has worked at leading global tech companies. He oversaw autonomous driving software development and commercialization at Nvidia. Most recently, Kwon led intelligent robot development at Samsung Electronics.

Drawing on his deep expertise in autonomous vehicle perception software, deep learning, machine learning and computer vision technologies, Kwon will lead the group’s autonomous driving technology development from conception through product commercialization.

Strengthening global talent pipeline

The OEM is recruiting key talent in software-defined vehicles and autonomous driving to accelerate the realization of its physical AI vision.

Early in July, the group appointed Dongwuk Kim as a senior vice president and head of the SDV Platform Development Center. Kim previously led wireless communication systems development for mobile devices, vehicles and humanoid robotics at global companies including Apple and Tesla.

And Jeremy Ma joined as a senior vice president and head of the AVP Silicon Valley, bringing extensive experience in robotics as well as autonomous driving software development and commercialization from Apple, Toyota Research Institute and Nvidia.

The September issue of ATTI will feature an interview and an opinion piece with Dong Chul Park, former research fellow and head of sound design at Hyundai

Dimensional changes after testing can be difficult to quantify using traditional measurement methods alone. This webinar will explore how 3D scanning provides clear visual evidence of warpage, deformation, shrinkage and dimensional variation before and after environmental, durability, impact and load testing.

Learn how full-part scanning, color map overlays, scan-to-CAD comparison and GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing) analysis help engineering teams move beyond point measurements to gain a complete understanding of part performance. Through real-world examples, attendees will see how 3D scanning identifies dimensional changes that may be missed with manual inspection and supports faster validation, stronger engineering decisions and more productive discussions.

The session, hosted by Aaron Zdroik, interiors department manager at Element Materials Technology, will also cover best practices for complex geometry measurement, fixture verification, portable on-site scanning and reporting methods that turn test results into actionable insights.

Attendees will leave with a better understanding of when to incorporate 3D scanning into a test program, how it complements traditional testing, and how visual dimensional data can reduce uncertainty, streamline root cause investigations and improve confidence in validation results.

Five key learning points for delegates:

• How 3D scanning reveals dimensional changes before and after testing
• When to use scan-to-CAD comparison and GD&T analysis
• How color map overlays identify warpage and deformation
• Why full-part scanning provides better insights than manual measurements
• How visual dimensional data improves validation and engineering decisions

REGISTER NOW

Listen in and take the opportunity to ask questions along the way, on August 5, 2026, at 4:00pm BST / 5:00pm CEST / 11:00am EST.

Register for the webinar here

Naturally, visitors and exhibitors felt that it was beneficial to be able to meet new and old faces, with the exhibition being a unique opportunity to do so. Exhibitors in the AI realm, and those with an AI application on display, noticeably captured visitors’ attention. Read ATTI‘s Day 1 roundup here and our Day 2 roundup here.

The MOVEdot workshop: AI agents in automotive testing, which was run by the company’s co-founder and CTO Bruno Finco, also proved incredibly popular. In a first for the workshop organizers, it was so busy that Finco ran it twice in one afternoon. 

On Day 1, Patrick Stiller, AI lead at tracetronic, presented in the Innovation Showcase – A journey to agentic testing – to a packed audience. Another example of the impact AI is having on the testing community. 

The content truly was the icing on the cake for visitors, with the AI and data-focused presentations in the Innovation Showcase receiving strong audience engagement. The majority of the talks and content streams in the ATTI Awards Forum and Innovation Showcase were well received and standing-room-only. 

With Euro 7 and Euro NCAP 2026 coming into place this year, it was clear to see that developers currently feel they are fighting an uphill battle, with more than ever on their plates. The frameworks were the topic of two panel discussions and raised some important questions. 

ATTI hosted an onstage interview with Emma Deutsch, tech director, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, and Guy Mathot, ADAS and connectivity software validation fleet supervisor at Ford. Richard Schram, Euro NCAP tech director, was unable to join ATTI onstage due to an unforeseen issue. 

Mathot candidly said during the discussion, “The additional amount of testing is a burden. With the extra scenarios and the introduction of extended types of testing, everything has to move faster. With the introduction of the robustness testing there is still a bit of a question mark as to how it’s integrated.”  

He revealed that the OEM has had adapt its tools and methods, invest in additional equipment – faster targets for example – and new tracks for high-speed crossings. 

In addressing the issue, he noted the importance of simulation, which was echoed by Deutsch, who commented, “You’ve got to go down the simulation route because, let’s be honest, if you don’t you’re dead. We’ve had to invest in that and train our engineers. We’ve also had to double down on our marketability team – it’s about getting that balance between what the customer wants and Euro NCAP.” 

“For me, the real value of attending an exhibition is the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations, build meaningful connections and see hands-on demonstrations in person. That level of engagement simply cannot be replicated online”
Vishnu Asvathanarayanan, function owner – system engineer, Valeo Detection Systems

Bugatti-Rimac’s vehicle dynamics controls manager Alessandro Pino appeared alongside the CEO and co-founder of Marple, Matthias Baert, to present A modern lakehouse architecture for automotive testing. Following the talk, he emphasized to ATTI, “We encourage teams to think beyond isolated datasets and adopt a centralized data strategy, using a unified data lake such as Marple DB combined with an exploration and analysis platform like Marple Insight.” 

It was also a welcome and refreshing change to see so many truck developers on the show floor, as well as on the panel discussions. There was even a professional truck driver, Tatiana Sokolova, taking notes in the audience, who was keen to give her input from a driver’s perspective and learn more about how simulation, AI and real-world data can support each other. 

“I came to Vehicle Tech Week to meet people and learn from the presenters and the show floor. It has been exhausting but happy. For me, the real value of attending in person is the spontaneous meetings you did not plan”
Carina Bjornsson, technical expert ADAS test methods, Volvo Cars

Like Deutsch at Nissan, Dr Christof M Weber wanted to highlight the criticality of always taking the customer into account, and to that effect, he arranged a meeting with Sokolova. He was on a panel discussion – Combining virtual environments with real-world testing – alongside Leo May, lead simulation engineer, Nissan Technical Centre Europe; Mikel Martinez, managing director, EPowerLabs; Andreas Richter, engineer program manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles; and moderator Carlos Sebastian Nerini, CEO and co-founder of WOM Testing Technologies.

Nerini said, “The panel was highly successful in my view. It flowed from start to finish, with exactly the kind of high‑level discussion we needed, enriched by meaningful contributions from all panelists. The strong audience presence, concrete examples, and insightful inputs clearly show the relevance of the topic. Even with limited direct questions, the depth of content required time to be processed, which is often a sign of quality discussions. These are the kinds of conversations that start to drive change and raise awareness about the transforming impact of new technologies on established development processes.”

Weber commented, “It’s about making concepts stable and resilient against changes during the project, resilient against variations and different models. Then it becomes clear that you have to do virtual testing when it comes to variance, because a prototype you build once cannot be copied 100,000 times, but you can perform hundreds of calculations.” 

“As a regular visitor, I came to Vehicle Tech Week to network and explore new solutions and technologies. The experience has been organized, slick and full of variety. Meeting vendors in person beats online every time”
Jon Gale, TS – rig and system integration, Jaguar Land Rover

VIP Executive Club

The event also featured the VIP Executive Club, a dedicated space for senior leaders that offered curated peer talks throughout the show. 

“We have had some great sessions and heard some great stories [during the PeerTalks],” said Arun Udamakuyar, systems architect, Jaguar Land Rover. 

Vehicle Tech Week Awards 2026

At the end of Day 2, visitors, exhibitors and other attendees had a chance to relax a little while networking and celebrating. The first Vehicle Tech Week Awards, which encompass the ATTI Awards, the ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Awards and the Trailblazer Awards, were hailed as a huge success. The ATTI Award winners – Humanetics, DSD, Tracetronic, WeRide, DTS and Santiago Rayes – were absolutely delighted to receive the recognition. Read more about the ATTI Award winners here.

Visitor testimonials

“I came to Vehicle Tech Week to share our experience on a project of global relevance, gain feedback on our technical deployment strategy and explore the latest trends in CAV and AI presented by a broad range of industry players, from OEMs to component suppliers. My experience has been enlightening, useful and cool – literally, the air-conditioning worked well! Face-to-face events continue to be invaluable, offering a true opportunity to build an industry network”
Mircea Gradu, VP vehicle engineering and FISITA board chair, Karma Automotive and FISITA

“We usually interact with many [suppliers] over the phone or on Teams, so being able to meet them all in one place makes a real difference. It is also valuable to see competitors side by side, understand where their services overlap and have more organic conversations than you would in a set meeting. The experience has been informative and has opened up a lot of curiosity, leading to additional questions and follow-up workshops with suppliers back in the UK. Exhibitions are important because they help you step outside your own bubble, gather external opinions and see whether your views align with the wider industry”
Craig Lewis, Jaguar Land Rover

“I’m a vehicle engineer working on vehicle testing for new Ford Otosan projects. I wanted to learn about new systems, new equipment and new test centers from suppliers. The experience has been fun, intense and insightful. Attending an exhibition in person allows for real interaction, hands-on experience and stronger networking compared to online”
Suleyman Esen, senior vehicle NVH engineer, Ford Otosan

Dates for the diary

On offer at Automotive Testing Expo North America 2026 will be another content-packed program with insights from OEMs, academics and suppliers. That will include the Future of Automotive Testing Conference, focusing on the ‘shift-left’ movement, as well as the Innovation Showcase. It will take place at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, October 22-25, 2026.

Vehicle Tech Week Europe will return to Messe Stuttgart June 2-3, 2027, and will continue to unite the automotive technology ecosystem across testing, autonomy, interiors and future mobility.

Read more: Find full coverage of Automotive Testing Expo Europe 2026 here

With five categories for 2026 – Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year, Testing Software Innovation of the Year, Simulation Innovation of the Year, Facility of the Year and Supplier of the Year – the awards are more prestigious than ever.

The awards are coordinated by Automotive Testing Technology International magazine and judged by a panel of 15 international experts from across the automotive industry.

Rachel Evans, editor of ATTI and chair of the ATTI Awards, said, “It will come as no surprise to learn that we once again received a raft of entries for the Testing Software Innovation and Simulation Innovation categories, making the shortlist particularly difficult to narrow down. The Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year category also attracted a high number of contenders.”

With entries spanning acoustics testing, ADAS and AV analysis, active and passive safety development, and connectivity testing, it was Humanetics that won the Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year category with the THOR-5F. The company has been collaborating with NHTSA over the last few years to build the new female ATD, which is meant to fill the gaps and provide the means for accurate female crash testing. 

As Graham Heeps, former editor of ATTI and awards judge, put it, “More accurate representation of female occupants in vehicle crash testing is decades overdue.”

Each year, nominations in the Testing Software Innovation of the Year category grow, with entries ranging from automation systems and data-handling solutions to CI/CD technology and more. This year, Tracetronic’s one:cx, a groundbreaking end-to-end continuous integration/continuous development platform, took the top honor. The solution redefines how vehicle software is integrated, validated and approved.

Dr Ahmed Abada, a jury member who spoke on stage with Evans earlier in the day, noted, “The agentic testing direction is forward looking and aligns with where testing is headed.”

The shortlist for Simulation Innovation of the Year focused heavily on battery technology and, despite the slowdown in the rollout of AV technology, self-driving vehicle evaluation. This highlights the importance of virtual development in enabling the widespread adoption of alternatively powered vehicles and automated driving. Taking home the trophy was WeRide for Genesis – a general-purpose simulation model combining physical AI and generative AI for AV analysis. By bridging the real and simulated worlds, Genesis enables rapid and realistic scenario generation.

Said Evans, “Sometimes it’s relatively clear who the winner will be but I couldn’t call this one. It was refreshing to have Waabi’s mixed-reality application on the shortlist as it’s a little bit different. However, Genesis by WeRide ultimately won by a clear margin of 20 points.”

Facility of the Year featured a particularly diverse field of entries, nominated for a variety of reasons: DSD for its powertrain test service offering; Metrosert for its unique driverless vehicle facility; Mercedes-Benz for its world-first light test center; RISE for its 6G edge computing hub; Toyota for the refinements to its Arizona proving ground that will greatly improve the customer experience; and Hyundai for its sprawling new German hub.

Deservedly, it was DSD that took home the trophy, with the jury noting the measurable impact of its support and services. Operating as a development partner, Drive System Design’s engineers integrate seamlessly within customer teams, delivering adaptive, data‑rich testing that supports high‑fidelity model correlation and robust digital twin development.

“We’re absolutely delighted to receive the ATTI Facility of the Year award,” said Rob Smith, head of development and test at DSD. “It’s a fantastic recognition of the expertise, dedication and collaborative spirit that underpin everything we do at Drive System Design.”

He continued, “We’re proud to be supporting the development of next-generation propulsion systems across a wide range of sectors, from automotive and commercial vehicles to aerospace, defense and beyond. By bringing design, development and testing together within a single, integrated environment, we can move seamlessly from concept through to validation, helping customers tackle increasingly complex engineering challenges with confidence while accelerating development and reducing program risk.” 

Winning the Supplier of the Year title was Diversified Technical Systems, which was recognized for its sheer graft in bringing to market new technologies that push boundaries. In the past year, DTS has launched five key products, acting as an end-to-end solutions provider and enabling efficient setup, reliable power distribution, synchronized data capture and streamlined communication across increasingly complex crash-test environments.

“DTS is honored to receive the Supplier of the Year award. We view this recognition as validation of our global team’s ongoing commitment to developing the most innovative data acquisition systems on the market,” said Chad Ivan, sales and applications manager at DTS. “Supporting automotive and aerospace testing where ‘failure is not an option’ is at the core of everything we do. That’s one reason our technical support and development teams are always looking for ways to make our customers’ experience as seamless as possible, today and in the future.”

For 2026, the Vehicle Tech Week Trailblazer Awards were introduced, recognizing the personal achievements of some remarkable individuals. Handpicked by the editors, ATTI’s trailblazer is Santiago Rayes, product manager at GRAS Sound & Vibration. He was nominated for his contribution to shaping modern automotive acoustic testing – an important and growing field – including his exceptional leadership in advancing the development and introduction of the GRAS 45BD AutoKEMAR platform.

Evans concluded, “As we know, the vehicle testing field is extremely diverse, with niches within niches. Very often, there is a clear theme within some categories and across the sector as a whole. This year, however, there was a particularly wide variety of entries. That has been fantastic to see, as it demonstrates innovation happening in all corners of the industry. It is also especially rewarding for us to recognize businesses from very different areas, of all sizes and types.”

Look out for more on the winners in the September 2026 edition of Automotive Testing Technology International.

ATTI will continue to report on the news and insights from Automotive Testing Expo Europe, which runs until 3pm tomorrow (June 25). Click here to book your free expo pass to Vehicle Tech Week Europe 2026

See the full ATTI Awards 2026 shortlist here

The day started with a panel discussion on Euro 7. It’s a topic that has come in and out of the spotlight, and which ATTI has reported on several times over the past few years.

Next up was ATTI’s fireside chat with Dr Ahmed Ebada, an avid contributor to the magazine, on digital twins and AI. Asked what he hopes people will be thinking about – or doing differently – after they leave the discussion, he said, “I hope attendees leave with a more practical view of AI and digital twins. Rather than asking, ‘How can we deploy more AI?’ I would like them to ask, ‘How can we build trustworthy systems that continuously learn, validate and improve outcomes?’

“Whether we are discussing automated testing, digital twins, SDVs or autonomous systems, the key opportunity lies in connecting data, simulation, AI and real-world operations into a continuous feedback loop.

“Ultimately, I hope the audience recognizes that competitive advantage will not come from having the most AI models, but from building the most reliable and scalable AI-driven decision systems.”

Audience member Tatiana Sokolova, a professional truck driver, said she is especially interested in how AI, digital twins and intelligent testing technologies can better reflect real-world road conditions and professional driving experience. While the exhibition’s audience doesn’t typically include drivers, she was excited to add a practical, real-world angle to the discussions.

She commented, “I am especially interested in how real-world operational feedback from professional drivers can support testing, validation and safety discussions – for example, by helping to identify edge cases, unusual traffic situations, foreseeable misuse and boundary situations that may be difficult to capture only in simulations or standard test scenarios.”

The morning continued with presentations, and began this afternoon with another panel at 1:35pm, Safe by design, secure by default – navigating SOTIF, functional safety and cybersecurity in modern automotive testing, and more presentation and panels.

One of ATTI’s afternoon highlights is the presentation from Matthias Baert, CEO and co-founder of Marple, and Alessandro Pino, vehicle dynamics controls manager, Bugatti-Rimac – A modern lakehouse architecture for automotive testing – scheduled to take place at 2:25pm. Speaking ahead of the presentation Pino said, “Engineering teams often believe meaningful analysis requires local scripts, while server-based platforms are seen as tools for finance or business users. In reality, modern, server-based technologies are ideally suited to engineering workflows, enabling collaboration, scalability and faster insight generation.”

A panel discussion at 3:10pm will be led by ATTI on Euro NCAP 2026, which introduces the largest increase in test scenarios since the assessment program was launched is due to take place. Euro NCAP 2026: What the new safety framework means for the automotive testing community will cover key questions including how the changes are expected to affect testing and how long OEMs expect this transition to take, how tuning and verification activities will fit within overall development activities, virtual and physical analysis integration, and what Euro NCAP is doing to ensure its program isn’t disruptive to OEMs.

One of ATTI’s panelists, Emma Deutsch, director of customer-oriented engineering, test operations and DP office at Nissan Technology Centre Europe, who spoke to ATTI onstage last year, said, “I’m looking forward to discussing how we can work more collaboratively on vehicle safety. I hope that we can give the audience an insight into how these changes effect how vehicle design and development is being radically changed – and how this affects customers.”

The ATTI Forum will conclude with another panel followed by the awards.

Awards 
Meet in the Atrium from 4:30pm (ceremony at 5:15pm) for drinks and to celebrate industry achievements across 13 categories and three sets of awards: the Automotive Testing Technology International Awards, the new Vehicle Tech Week Trailblazer Awards and the ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International Awards.

Automotive Testing Expo, part of Vehicle Tech Week Europe 2026, is open 9am to 3pm tomorrow, June 25

Read Dr Ebada’s column in the March 2026 edition