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Volkswagen Group previews its wares on eve of Geneva show

The Volkswagen Group is comprised of 11 brands producing 240 vehicles across 49 factories throughout the world. So the best way to show off the range of the VW family is to cram a few thousand journalists and VIPs into a massive makeshift stand to outline the Group's goals, what's in the pipeline and what you'll be able to buy later this year.
To that end, VW pulled out all the stops on the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, bringing along 10 vehicles from across the range. We'll be delving into the details of each over the next two days of show coverage, but before that happens, you can read all about what we saw tonight from the cheap seats after the break.

Bugatti brings Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "Gris Rafale" to Brazil

Bugatti's Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse is downright well-known around these parts. Not only have we reported on the 1,200-horsepower Veyron selling for a pretty penny at Pebble Beach, we've seen a funnyman Leno take one for a pleasure cruise in SoCal.
Apparently, Bugatti believes that the Grand Sport Vitesse is likely to be just as popular in South America as it has been elsewhere in the world, as the company has officially announced that it will be bringing the model to Brazil. Not wanting to merely send out a press release, the French supercar maker has gone and created a one-off Grand Sport Vitesse "Gris Rafale" to mark the occasion.
The new car has been finished in a fetching light shade of gray called Gris Rafale (French for "Gray Burst", with accent pieces done in striking blue carbon fiber. The interior treatment is a reversal of that motif, with blue leather and gray stitching. A special edition that only features a new colorway might seem like a weak effort for any other car, but on one of the most expensive, highest performance road-going vehicles of all time, we'll take it.

Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.