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VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle. VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone. In the near-term, the brands have their own plans: Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is said to want a Chiron Superleggera, a roofless and "completely reskinned" Chiron Aperta, and a track-only Chiron SS. The Superleggera could take the Chiron Sport's and Divo's Jenny Craig routines even further. The Aperta seems a natural successor to the Veyron Grand Sport, a natural evolution of the recently introduced Sky View roof, and a reskin might include numerous Divo cues. It's also said Bugatti's considering "an all-electric high-end model" in conjunction with Porsche, Rimac, and Dallara, but name one supercar or hypercar manufacturer that isn't considering a lightning-fast EV. Lamborghini, deep into work on follow-ups for the Huracan and Aventador, might get a bit of a bump with the new plan. The carbon "monofuselage" for the next V12 flagship is said to be too far developed and too complex to scrap. It puts two electric motors on the front axle, batteries in the middle, and a naturally aspirated V12 with around 770 horsepower plus another e-motor with 402 horsepower in back. The Huracan is said to get a version of the same carbon architecture at the moment, but the corporate reorganization might press pause on it. Automobile says options include continuing the Huracan/ Audi R8 twinning, but that depends on Audi saying "Ja" to a third-gen R8 with Lamborghini bones.

Audi S1 officially shows itself as 228-hp hot hatch [w/video]

We got the first leaked pics of the new Audi S1 Sportback five-door hot hatch yesterday, and as expected, Audi has unloaded the full details today, including confirmation of its S1 three-door sibling ahead of its debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show. The two cars are essentially identical aside from their door counts, and together, they represent a new entry-level rung into Audi's S car range.
The subcompact S1 is propelled by Audi's ubiquitous 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder, tuned here to produce 228 horsepower and 279 pound-feet with a six-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive. The potent combo accelerates the S1 to 62 miles per hour in 5.8 seconds (5.9 seconds for the Sportback) and on to a top speed of 155 mph. Fuel economy is rated at an average 33.6 miles per gallon (40.3 mpg UK) in the UK cycle. The S also gets a completely different four-link independent suspension to replace the less sophisticated torsion beam setup found in the standard A1.
Styling also gets a bump in aggressiveness that befit the S1's performance upgrades. In addition to a new body kit with a lower front air dam and 17-inch wheels, the S1 comes standard with Xenon headlights, LED taillights and two new available exterior colors ­- Vegas Yellow and Sepang Blue. The interior gets combination leather and cloth sport seats, piano black trim and a retractable 6.5-inch color infotainment display.

Audi S3 Cabriolet is a topless two-door temptress

Now that we've driven the Audi S3, we're pretty eager for it go on sale in the United States. And while we won't get the Sportback version, there's a teeny tiny chance that Audi may grace us with this new Cabriolet version that makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
That certainly wouldn't be a shame, considering the topless S3 packs the same 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque as the sedan, all of which comes from a turbocharged, 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine. That folding roof mechanism adds a bit of weight to the S3 package, and thus, reaching that ever-so-special 62 miles per hour takes an extra half a second - 5.4 compared to 4.9 with the S3 sedan.
Looks-wise, we dig the aggressive little S3, though the chrome wheels of the show car are kind of throwing us off. Swap out a set of standard alloys, and we'll be good to go. Have a look in the gallery above to see the topless Audi for yourself.