Volkswagen

Bentley is an automaker not without its own racing pedigree, but the bulk of that is anchored in the 1920s and at Le Mans, to which it returned in winning form in the earlier part of the new millennium with the Speed 8. The latest development could, however, see the Flying B marque enter into another class of motorsport competition altogether.

That opposite end of the endurance racing spectrum is the torturous Dakar rally. We first published rumors of Crewe’s consideration of the possibility back in November, but according to CAR Magazine, those rumors are apparently kicking into high gear.

That much is owed largely to the emergence of the above-pictured EXP 9 F program, Bentley’s concept SUV currently under development. Well, sorta. Bentley’s parent company Volkswagen recently withdrew from the Dakar rally after winning it three times in a row – ostensibly to focus on its new World Rally Championship effort, but spurring rumors all the same of it transferring the team to another brand.

Given that the EXP 9 F is based (or would be, anyway) on an architecture related to the Touareg – the race model of which is what the VW team used to dominate the event – the facilitation of Bentley’s take-over of the program could prove even more straight-forward than the manner in which Audi successfully supported Bentley’s Le Mans team.

To wit, the boys from Crewe are said to be in the process of buying back all the Race Touareg rigs – complete with their 2.5-liter twin-turbo diesels producing 300 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque – that Volkswagen sold to privateer teams upon its departure, suggesting rather poor planning and perhaps only a passing resemblance to the eventual production EXP 9 F (which, incidentally, isn’t expected to look like the concept above).

Bentley plotting Dakar effort with used VW Touareg racers? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There was a lot of built-up excitement surrounding the larger and less costly 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, but the anticipation deflated among critics when the model’s less-than-impressive interior was revealed to the world. Critics chided the cheapened cabin, and quite a few negative reviews followed.

It’s tough to argue that in the process of its upsizing, the Jetta’s interior wasn’t downgraded with lesser plastics and trim. The 2012 Passat does a much better job in this regard, but even then there are some areas where it feels like cost has been taken out of the cabin. But none of that is apparently enough to stop designer Jae Min from taking issue with these characterizations. Ward’s Automotive reports that VW’s chief U.S. designer claims that the Jetta and Passat interiors were not the victims of cost-cutting. Min claims that the money was simply re-purposed, with money shifting “from here to there.” The designer went on to add that the automaker was able to lower the starting price of both vehicles in part because of more flexible vehicle architectures and shifting production from Germany to the States.

While Min sounds convinced that no pennies were pinched, we’re not so sure – unless when he says money was shifted “from here to there” he means “from where you can see and feel to where you can’t.” Regardless of what we think, one statistic is impossible to argue: Jetta sales have shot up 43.9 percent this year and Passat sales have skyrocketed by 80.9 percent. That, ladies and gentlemen, is letting the numbers do the talking.

Volkswagen designer claims no cost was taken out of Jetta, Passat interiors originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Running a high-end automobile manufacturer like Bentley or Bugatti has got to be a dream job for most any business executive. And Wolfgang Dürheimer gets to run them both – but not for much longer, according to the latest reports coming in from trade publication Automotive News Europe.

According to ANE, the former Porsche development chief is set to move to Audi in a broad management restructure aimed at reducing the average age of Ingolstadt’s seven-member management board. In his new capacity, Dürheimer (53) is tipped to replace Audi’s current development chief, Michael Dick (60), who is expected to retire later this year.

Along with Dürheimer, Volkswagen marketing director Luca de Meo (44, formerly of Fiat) is expected to replace Audi sales chief Peter Schwartzenbauer (60), while Volkswagen purchasing manager Bernd Martens replaces his Audi counterpart Ulf Berkenhagen, who will take up the same role at the group’s commercial vehicles division. Audi production chief Frank Dreves is also expected to leave his post, though no replacement was named in the report.

Of course with any game of musical chairs – or “Reise nach Jerusalem” as they call it in German for some reason – replacements will need to be found for the positions being left vacant. We’ll be watching who is named head of Bentley and Bugatti, both roles that Dürheimer assumed from Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen (pictured above at right), who last we heard was still in the group organizing its classic vehicles division.

Bentley/Bugatti chief Durheimer moving to Audi in management shake-up originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 May 2012 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The global luxury war has three fierce combatants, all German, all producers of amazing vehicles, and all serious about besting their two other rivals. While BMW has been winning as of late, the latest battle goes to Audi.

The Volkswagen luxury brand sold 125,200 vehicles in April, topping BMW’s 121,476, according to Reuters. It was the first time Audi outsold BMW since January 2011. BMW still holds the year-to-date lead with 478,030 units sold, compared to 471,300 for April’s champ, according to the report. BMW sales are up 10.1 percent for the year, while Audi’s have risen by 11.7 percent.

Mercedes-Benz sits over 50,000 units behind at 418,246, according to Automotive News. Sales of Mercedes vehicles are up 9.7 percent on the year.

Audi’s ascendency can be traced to China, where sales rose 44 percent in April, according to AN. European sales, by comparison, were only up 4.9 percent, with U.S. sales rising by 15 percent.

Audi narrowly beats BMW in April to take premium sales crown originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 May 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Automobile‘s Georg Kacher goes deep into the Volkswagen product plan, looking at the 32 models that the group’s ten brands will roll out over the next five years. These vehicles are expected to drive VW to the top of the mountain in 2018, where the flag for World’s Largest Automaker awaits.

The armada is based on three platforms: MQB for transverse FWD/AWD cars like the VW Golf, MLB for the longitudinal FWD/AWD cars in Audi’s stable, and MSB for AWD/RWD front-, rear- and mid-engined cars like the Porsche 960.

Said to be due in 2015, the 960 is the supercar discussed last year as a bridge model between the 911 and 918, but Kacher has it listed with the MSB-M platform cars like the Porsche Boxster/Cayman and Lamborghini Aventador, not the front-engined MSB-F or rear-engined MSB-H cars. Yet the 960 is said to be a Ferrari-fighting “four-door coupe” powered by a twin-turbo flat-six. We’ll wait for clarification on the number of doors, since in September of last year, Kacher’s scoop for Car posited the 960 as a mid-engined coupe priced “on the creepy side of €200,000.”

Other intriguing notes from the plan: for VW, a CC coupe is planned for 2016, the Passat might get a coupe variant, the second-generation Scirocco “has the potential” for U.S. sales and the Eos will be replaced; Audi is desgining an even edgier third-generation TT, the A4 will experiment with e-quattro, and the next-generation A6 will break the same-sausage, different-lengths design mold.

Porsche 960 to be a Ferrari-fighting four-door coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 06 May 2012 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BMW reported this week that its first quarter profit rose 19 percent. BMW said 1-Series sales jumped 20 percent, which helped the company deliver a record total of 425,528 vehicles in the first quarter.

Last week, Daimler and Volkswagen blew past analysts’ expectations with VW increasing profit 10 percent and Daimler making 4.9 percent more that last year’s first quarter.

Much of the profit and sales boost is due to growing popularity of German models in U.S. and China. A couple of analysts quoted in a Bloomberg report are split on what the future holds. One says he expects BMW and VW to raise their second quarter forecasts. Another sees China’s market cooling off and gives BMW a neutral rating while rating VW and Daimler as good buys. So far this year automotive companies (including suppliers) are the best performing stocks in Europe.

German automakers defy analyst predictions by earning huge profits originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 18:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Auto Express has come up with a rendering of the Q2 (pictured right, click to see the full deal), which we’ll reportedly see in concept form sometime in the next 12 months, and – surprise, surprise – it looks like a sportier Q3 or, more to the point, a high-riding A1. Because of its small size, powertrains will likely be plucked out of the A1 range, meaning a 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four and a 1.6-liter diesel four will be offered.

Audi will also reportedly take a cue from Mini with the Q2 launch, encouraging owners to personalize their small CUVs in a number of ways. According to the report, buyers will be able to opt for contrasting roof and mirror colors, as well as different-colored major interior trim bits, including the seats and steering wheel.

The Q2 will ride on the same MQB architecture that is set to underpin the full range of Volkswagen Group small cars. That said, Auto Express reports that the Q2 will launch before the rest of the small cars are facelifted in 2014.

Audi Q2 to take on Nissan Juke? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.