Simon Cowell believes breaking his back in 2020 E-bike crash ‘happened for a reason’
Simon Cowell is reflecting positively on his 2020 E-bike injury, which resulted in six hours of surgery.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge broke his back in August 2020 after he fell from an electric bicycle he was testing at his home in Malibu, California.
He underwent intense surgery for the accident, which included having a metal rod put in his back to stabilise it.
“It was painful, it wasn’t great,” he told the TODAY show in a recent interview with fellow America’s Got Talent stars Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Terry Crews.
“However, I was so unfit before the accident. I didn’t know how unfit I was until I had to do all this stuff afterwards,” he explained. “And I’m like, ‘My God.’ Things like that, I believe happened for a reason.”
Asked if – after a second serious E-bike crash in 2022 – he would be hanging up his cycling gloves, Cowell responded: “I’m still gonna stay on my bike. I’m obsessed with these things.”
Last year, Cowell said he was “lucky to survive” his back surgery after the first accident.
“I didn’t talk about it too much at the time,” he told OK! “I kept a lot back. It was a lot worse than people thought. I had a lot of long-term nerve damage as well.
“Just when I thought the bones had healed, I went with [my son] Eric to a funfair and tried to kick a football and it was agony.”
Due to his injuries, Cowell was unable to appear in the 2020 season of Britain’s Got Talent and was temporarily replaced by previous winner Ashley Banjo.
“If there was one good thing about lockdown, it was that it gave me the time to heal because I wasn’t working on a TV show,” he admitted. “I was able to walk a lot and strengthen my legs.
“I know I was lucky to survive my back surgery. I have a lot of people to thank for my recovery.”
Audi Isn’t Abandoning Gas Engines for EVs by 2033 As It Planned
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner reportedly said there’s no deadline for an all-EV lineup and ICE development will continue to maintain ‘flexibility.’
Audi is removing its planned 2033 all-EV deadline, according to a report by Autocar.
Last year, the company decided to put more funding into developing hybrid technology.
Sure to please Audi performance fans, there’s the potential for future gas-powered RS models.
Last year, Audi softened its plans to wind down a transition to an entirely electrified lineup, suggesting that plug-in hybrid technology was worth developing as a bridge to EVs. Still, the company’s official stated plan was a full EV range by 2033, so no more internal-combustion-powered Audis. Now, as reported by Autocar, that deadline is off the table.
The EV Deadline Is Dead
Citing an interview with Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, Autocar notes that the decision to continue developing combustion engines is part of keeping the company’s lineup “flexible.” The new short-term plans include a new lineup of gas-powered vehicles, hybridized or not, to be rolled out by next year. There’s no new deadline for full electrification, but Döllner said he expects Audi to still be producing gas-powered cars past 2033.
These plans are likely dependent on the market, as EU laws have a set target date of full electrification by 2035. On this side of the Atlantic, about 12 percent of Audis sold in the United States were EVs. Globally, that percentage rises to 30 percent, with total figures slightly ahead of Mercedes but lagging BMW.
Audi will still be putting R&D money towards its all-electric vehicles and no doubt benefiting from the Volkswagen Group’s broader strategy. However, there’s perhaps a little hope here for those who weren’t quite ready to throw in the towel on gas-powered performance Audis.
New Gas-Fed RS Models?
Indications are that RS versions of gas-powered Audis will still be on the table. Audi’s performance division has delivered some hugely characterful motors over the years, from the RS6’s twin-turbo V-10 to the TT RS’s snorty turbocharged inline-five.
Speaking of the Audi TT, Döllner didn’t entirely close the door on speculation that it might return, perhaps accompanied by its big brother, the R8. He said it was too early to talk about such things, but that there might be a chance to be surprised in the future. Don’t hold your breath, but the gas-powered four-ring circus hasn’t left town yet.