1979 Porsche 928 on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.

Porsche offering short-term loans to Macan waitlisters

Walk into a Porsche dealer today, place an order for a Macan and you'll be looking at a waiting period of six months or more before you can expect delivery. That may be common enough for high-end European automakers, but the Macan is meant to lure new buyers to the brand, and the waitlist could be enough to deter them from sticking around.
The solution? Offer to lease them a Boxster or Cayman until their new Macan arrives. Shorter in term that the usual new-car lease, these six-month terms are designed to keep buyers from turning their backs, all the while experiencing the kind of vehicle Porsche does best.
Of course it doesn't hurt that the dealer then gets a used sports car to sell again once the short-term lease is up. And we wouldn't be surprised to see some buyers asking to hold on to their mid-engined sports car for a little longer, either.

Former Top Gear crew starts filming for Amazon show

We might have only a hint at the name and no exact date for a premiere, but fans can celebrate that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are filming once again. Plus, it looks like every cent of Amazon's reportedly lavish budget is being put on the screen. A photo tweeted by Clarkson shows the three hosts standing proudly in front of a Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 at a racetrack. Clarkson jokes that the show has just a "skeleton crew" but behind him stand several dozen people, a sophisticated-looking camera rig, and two big trucks. This definitely looks worth the anticipation of the premiere on Amazon Prime next fall. Hammond tweeted the same picture and wrote: "The band is back together and it feels brilliant." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Intriguingly, it appears that fellow British auto journalist Chris Harris is currently filming at the same track. He tweeted a photo to Clarkson of the McLaren doing a very smoky slide, while being followed by the other two hypercars. The Porsches in both photos wear the same red-and-white number 3 livery and have the same license plate number. In a later message, Harris was also clear that he wasn't filming there in connection with the trio's Amazon show. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.