VI-grade announced the appointment of Dr. Leonardo Pascali as managing director, effective October 1st, 2026. Pascali joins VI-grade following an extensive international career spanning automotive engineering, high-performance vehicle development and motorsport. Most recently, he served as technical director of Audi Sport’s Dakar project, where he was responsible for the technical development of the Audi RS Q e-tron program that achieved overall victory at the 2024 Dakar Rally with Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz.
Prior to Audi, Pascali held senior engineering positions at McLaren Automotive, Porsche and Centro Ricerche Fiat, building extensive experience in vehicle dynamics, chassis development and advanced vehicle technologies. During his time at McLaren Automotive, where he served as head of Chassis and Vehicle Technology, Pascali was named Vehicle Dynamicist of the Year 2017 by Vehicle Dynamics International.
In his new role, Pascali will lead VI-grade towards an expanded vision of full-vehicle development and validation, with a strategic roadmap placing greater emphasis on software-defined vehicles, ADAS, energy management and integrated electronic systems. A key priority will be combining Software-in-the-Loop (SiL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) and Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) technologies to connect virtual models and driving simulators with physical electronic control units and vehicle systems. This integrated approach will enable OEMs to validate software releases, verify system interactions and assess how vehicle systems behave and interact from the driver’s perspective. Building on Pascali’s experience in system-level vehicle evaluation, this roadmap will extend VI-grade’s human-centric approach beyond traditional vehicle attributes, in line with HBK’s Smart Testing strategy.
A defining aspect of Pascali’s engineering approach has been his close collaboration with professional test drivers, combining objective engineering data with first-hand, subjective driving assessments. In previous vehicle development roles, his own driving evaluations, alongside those of the chief test driver, contributed to final vehicle sign-off. This experience closely reflects VI-grade’s human-centric philosophy: evaluating the vehicle as an integrated system and considering the complete driving experience, rather than treating individual engineering disciplines in isolation.
As managing director, Pascali will work closely with VI-grade and HBK teams worldwide to strengthen the company’s automotive and motorsport business, deepen customer and technology partnerships, and develop integrated workflows that connect full-spectrum, human-centric simulation with Hardware-in-the-Loop and physical validation.
For more information, visit vi-grade.com.
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