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Volkswagen Group's Vision 2030 strategy could bring revolution to the brands

One would expect a corporate plan called "Vision 2030," looking 11 years ahead through wildly tumultuous times, to involve great change and numerous forks in numerous roads. According to Automobile's breakdown of Volkswagen's path forward, though, the plans contain some lurid potential surprises. The ultimate aim is return on investment, and that means ruthless reorganization of a conglomerate with eight primary car brands, two car sub-brands, and Ducati motorcycles. The first two Vision 2030 cornerstones Automobile mentions are near boilerplate: Production network restructuring, and "streamlining of key technologies." The latter two are the ones that could upend what we know as the Volkswagen Group: focusing on the Group's core brands — meaning Audi, Porsche, and VW — and transitioning to EVs, autonomy, and other mobility solutions. Based on the report, a quote from Audi's CTO referring to the Audi brand could cover how the Group plans to handle all of its brands: "We need to find a sustainable solution for the indefinite transition period until EVs eventually take over." The boutique divisions adjacent to carmaking, Ducati and Italdesign, look likely to be spun off. For the halo car brands — Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini — apparently shareholders want double-digit returns on investment, and the trio doesn't have long to hit the target. One eyebrow raiser is when the report states, "Bugatti is tipped to be gifted to [ex-VW Group Chairman] Ferdinand Piech." Piech fathered the Veyron during his tenure at VW, and it was thought he commissioned the La Voiture Noire, but he's lately stepped so far back from VW that he sold all his shares in the Group. Automobile quoted a senior strategist as saying of money-losing Bentley, "Why invest on a backward-looking enterprise when you can support a trendsetter? A proud history and excellent craftmanship alone don't cut it anymore." We guess no one at Ferrari, McLaren, or even Porsche got that memo. Bentley is reportedly close to being put in time out, and if brand CEO Adrian Hallmark can't right the Crewe ship, the hush-hush Plan B is to prop the Flying B up enough to lure a buyer. As for Lamborghini, caught between two masters at Audi and Porsche, even record-breaking numbers at the Italian supercar maker barely staved off sacrilege. It's said that VW brand CEO Herbert Diess considered putting a 5.0-liter Porsche V8 into the Aventador successor.

Audi teases 700-hp Quattro Sport E-Tron concept for Frankfurt

Audi's trump card for the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show has just been unveiled, sort of. It's called the Quattro Sport E-Tron Concept. Set to debut in a few weeks, sketches have been uncovered that show a few of the car's details, albeit in rough form. The news of a big-name Audi concept at Frankfurt has been swirling since June, when we first reported on it.
From the sketches, we see a car that has the same basic shape as the Quattro Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show, only with subtle tweaks and evolutions to a few features. The news isn't so much about the looks, though. It's the reports coming from Auto Zeitung and Audi enthusiast site Fourtitude.
Horsepower on the concept is expected to be in the neighborhood of 700 ponies - about 50 more than we initially thought - and will be split between a gas engine and an electric motor. Yup, that "E-Tron" name isn't just there for show. While it's not clear what the exact split will be between gas and electric power, we do know the same twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 found in the RS6 and RS7 will be sitting under the Quattro's hood, and that the bulk of the power will likely come from here. We may not have power figures on the hybrid system, but we do know this concept is capable of running for 21.7 miles on electric power alone.

Audi A8 and S8 get another video tease

If there was any doubt before about which car(s) Audi recently teased in a video, now we know for sure. Audi has released another teaser video that confirms we'll at least be seeing the 2015 Audi S8 (and very likely the A8 as well) in the near future, but the big surprise is just how soon we'll see the new flagship sedan. We originally expected to see the sedan receive its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but now Audi says that the car will be presented about three weeks before the event on August 21.
How do we know this is the S8? Well, aside from it obviously being a large sedan, the true tell that this is its A8/S8 is the front license plate, which clearly shows "S8" on it - we've been doing this long enough to know that Audi's promotional license plates have the model designation in the plate number. As for other details, Audi's trick Matrix headlights shine through the thin veil in what should be the crown jewel of the sedan's new face. There's a little more than a week to go until the car is unveiled, but for now, check out the video below.