1997 Volkswagen Golf Gti Vr6 Hatchback 2-door 2.8l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover seeks to block U.S. imports of Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, VW SUVs

You wouldn’t know it was about Jags and Lambos, to judge by its rather dry name: In the Matter of Certain Vehicle Control Systems. But thatÂ’s the complaint Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc filed on Thursday to block U.S. imports of Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi and Volkswagen sport utility vehicles it says are using its patented Terrain Response technology without permission. Jaguar Land Rover, a British carmaker owned by IndiaÂ’s Tata Motors Ltd., said in its filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission that the technology helps negotiate a “broad range of surfaces” and is a key feature in JaguarÂ’s F-Pace and Land Rover Discovery vehicles. “JLR seeks to protect itself and its United States operations from companies that have injected infringing products into the U.S. market that incorporate, without any license from JLR, technology developed by JLR and protected by its patent,” JaguarÂ’s lawyer, Matthew Moore, said in the filing. Representatives of Volkswagen didnÂ’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the complaint. Jaguar wants to block imports of PorscheÂ’s Cayenne; LamborghiniÂ’s Urus; AudiÂ’s Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad and e-tron vehicles; and VWÂ’s Tiguan vehicles. It said there are plenty of other luxury midsize SUV and compact crossover vehicles to meet consumer demand if the SUVs are banned from the U.S. Still, the premium Porsche and Audi lines provide much of the profit VW is using to fund its investments in technology for electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and further innovations. In addition to the four brands, Volkswagen Group owns other upscale nameplates, including Bentley and Bugatti. The International Trade Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that investigates complaints of unfair trade practices, like patent infringement. It canÂ’t award damages but does have the power to block products from entering the U.S. Owners of patents and trade secrets like it because it can work faster than the federal district courts -- the typical investigation is completed in 15 to 18 months. But Jaguar also filed patent lawsuits against the companies in federal courts in Delaware and New Jersey, seeking cash compensation for the use of the technology. Those cases are likely to be put on hold once the trade commission launches its investigation. The case is In the Matter of Certain Vehicle Control Systems, 337-3508, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).

VW readying new VR6 with forced induction

Volkswagen built a stonking, narrow-angle V6 in the 1980s and 1990s that was found in three different generations of the Golf (their performance iterations, obviously), three generations of the Passat, the New Beetle, the Corrado and the Touareg, among other VWs, a spate of Audis, Seats, a Skoda, and even the Porsche Cayenne. It was a sad day when it was announced that it'd be put out to pasture.
Rejoice, though, fans of the venerable VR6, because Volkswagen has a new, modern variant in the works that, according to AutoWeek, features direct injection and can easily be fitted with forced induction. In fact, AW mentions Volkswagen insiders that claim this unit will spawn a production version of the twin-turbo V6 shown on the Design Vision GTI from this year's Wörthersee festival. That unit produced an epic 503 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque.
Don't expect a production unit with that level of power (although it would make a hardy RS4 powerplant), though. In reality, AutoWeek is suspecting anywhere from 340 to 450 horsepower from the new mill. When it arrives at an undisclosed date in the future, it'll likely be found in the Passat and Passat CC as well as the production version of the CrossBlue.

Volkswagen building budget car family planned for China in 2018

Volkswagen has publicly pondered a low-cost car for China, something akin to Nissan's Datsun revival in Southeast Asia, for at least three years. In 2013 it tapped Chinese partner FAW to help develop an entire budget brand, with plans to have something on the market in 2016 in the 6,000- to 8,000-euro range. About a year ago, VW said it couldn't figure out how to engineer an inexpensive car that didn't run counter to the brand's values, then three weeks later said it had overcome the issues. Reuters now reports that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, "We will bring a budget-car family to market in 2018, with an SUV, saloon and hatchback." Winterkorn didn't offer any other details like who VW would work with to build it - VW has partnerships with both FAW and SAIC, but the announcement will be welcomed by the brand's Chinese outpost. When this adventure started, VW said it was working to create a model that would cost 6,000 to 8,000 euro. That estimate has increased. Winterkorn is now saying the 2018 offerings will come in between 8,000 and 11,000 euro. In a straight euro-to-yuan conversion, that would equate to Chinese pricing of 56,000 to 77,000 yuan. For comparison, the New Polo with a 1.4-liter engine and a manual transmission starts at 85,900 yuan. Perhaps with an eye on the success of the Nissan-Renault sub-brand Dacia in Europe and emerging markets, Winterkorn told Bild, "We will see if this is something of interest for other markets as well." On the opposite end of the price/performance spectrum, Winterkorn also said that VW is working on two new models for Bugatti, one powered by a traditional gasoline engine and another with some sort of hybrid setup. The latter model would reportedly be the higher-performing of the two, though it's not clear whether there would be two vehicle lines or two versions of the same vehicle. As ever, as soon as we know more, so will you.