Jaime Medina's live announcement sent a shockwave through the venue and the livestream platforms.
Audiences around the world reacted instantly. Some praised Audi's breakthrough in aesthetics. Others responded with envy, sarcasm, or disbelief.
But one group, watching from home on Shark Live, was losing their minds.
"Where's that guy who swore he'd eat shit on stream if Audi won? My rockets are ready!"
"That's a real one! I'm camping this stream!"
"666, this design straight-up crushes the competition."
"Those matrix LED lights? Game over. I'm buying the A4L the second it drops."
Others chimed in with hot takes:
"Bro, you'll have to wait a year—this is a concept facelift."
"Nah, the TT is the real star. That thing's launching within six months, mark my words."
"Yeah, but what's the price? Cool doesn't come cheap."
"This TT looks like it's built to go toe-to-toe with BMW, Benz, and Audi Sport."
"Bah, you think China can take on German coupes?"
"Who cares about the shell? Let's see what's under the hood."
That last point hit a nerve even among the most loyal domestic fans.
As jaw-dropping as the A4L and TT looked, none of it would matter if the engine didn't deliver—if the core performance wasn't there.
And that concern wasn't unfounded.
China Star had made waves with smaller-displacement engines, but when it came to big-power platforms? Crickets. That silence had some netizens on edge.
The win lit a fire inside the Audi team at the venue.
Everyone swarmed Haifeng with congratulations. Applause, cheers, and admiration filled the lounge.
Even Xu Zhilin raised a rare thumbs-up.
"Top of the world, boss. Your design work? It's unmatched."
In the span of a single exhibition cycle, Haifeng's name had broken through the global ceiling. He wasn't just another domestic designer anymore—he was now being mentioned in the same breath as the world's elite.
One by one, foreign designers came over to greet him. Some were genuinely impressed. Some were looking to save face. Others approached with professional curiosity, asking about design principles, aesthetic language, and technical execution.
But one person stood apart from the praise.
Walter.
Volkswagen's design director wasn't about to admit defeat twice.
Still stinging from his embarrassment in the design scoring, Walter drifted from the circle of designers and slipped into the engineers' section of the lounge.
In the automotive world, designers and engineers often lived in different universes. One side dealt with form. The other has a function. The engine guys didn't care if a car looked like a spaceship—if it couldn't pull power or hold torque, it was junk.
That's where Walter went, now to the camp that might still share his contempt.
Among the engineers, the mood was very different.
No one cared about LEDs or floating roofs. They were here for the real contest: engine performance.
This was their turf.
Their pride.
Their bonus check.
And as news of Audi's design win rippled across the venue, most of them scoffed.
"Exterior? Pfft. Try winning when we go chassis-to-chassis."
"You think some flashy lights beat a tuned powertrain?"
"Benma's bringing two high-output monsters. No chance anyone beats that."
"Forget Benma. Our Ford 5.0L NA V8 is still the gold standard. Smoothest torque curve on the field."
"Last year's winner was our Hyundai team. This year? We're repeating."
Every engineer had their pride on the line. Every company thought their tuning shop was best-in-class.
But none of them took China Star seriously.
As far as they were concerned, Audi's entry was a fluke—a pretty shell with nothing substantial underneath.
1:00 PM.
The main event was about to begin: engine and chassis testing.
This wasn't a lab demo or a closed-course dyno pull. It was a spectacle—a full-throttle, no-limits automotive trial.
Forget controlled environments. This was rally driving on a 50-kilometer mixed-terrain circuit.
Dust, gravel, incline, water—real-world chaos designed to shred weak powertrains.
Inside the rally paddock, two men were prepping.
Roland and Mark Dagan are world-ranked rally drivers, seventh and ninth, respectively.
They were veterans of Ward's. Both knew the format. Both knew how to push a car to its limit.
Mark chuckled as he checked his gloves.
"Roland, you think we'll pull something decent this year?"
"Depends on luck," Roland replied, stretching his shoulders. "Last year, I got stuck with a 1.8L econobox. Almost nuked it on turn six."
Mark laughed. "Same. It's boring unless we get a high-power pull. Even with big displacement, without our tuning, it's never quite explosive."
"That's why it's fun," Roland said. "This isn't our car. It's their car. Our job? Break it or crown it."
He glanced at the track, eyes glinting.
"And I plan to crown something today."