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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.

Zagato rolls out second Lamborghini 5-95 in yellow

Unless you live in one of the supercar capitals of the world, seeing a Lamborghini on the street is a rare opportunity. Even the Gallardo, of which Lamborghini produced over 14,000 to go down as the most prolific Raging Bull in the marque's history, is still far from an everyday sight. But at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este a few months ago – just shortly after the reveal of the new Huracan – Zagato presented an even more exotic version of the Gallardo. It's called the 5-95, and if features substantially overhauled coachwork that contemporizes the Raptor concept which the two Italian firms presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1996. Rumors immediately began to circulate that Zagato would build a short run of these rebodied Gallardos, and here we have the evidence: the second 5-95, pictured at the Zagato factory in Milan. Wearing a more Lamborghini-like pearl yellow paintjob, this second of five 5-95s said to be in the pipeline looks more akin to the Cala concept of 1995 designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. There's no telling who the customer is or how much he paid to get his hands on this rare bull, but you can bet it cost considerably more than a Gallardo or Huracan, even with the premiums customers are said to be paying for them these days.

Lamborghini Aventador Pirelli Edition available this summer

Lamborghini offers buyers incredible levels of performance combined with angular, avant-garde styling That grabs everyone's attention. Now, the Italian brand is giving its customers the chance to flaunt their supercars even more with a new Aventador Pirelli Edition. Designed to celebrate Lamborghini's relationship with Pirelli that goes back to the tires on the original 350 GTV prototype, these special-edition Aventadors keep all of the high-performance mechanicals and add a little extra to show off in two available looks. The first paints the roof, pillars, mirrors, engine cover and intakes matte black and gives the body a high-gloss finish in the buyer's choice of six colors. Alternatively, the supercars can have gloss black for those portions and paint the rest of the bodywork in a choice of four matte shades. Either the coupe or roadster can be ordered this way. Regardless finish, all of these Aventadors get a thin, red stripe over the roof, engine cover, mirrors and air intakes. The whole look is completed with red brake calipers (yellow for Rosso Mars models) and gloss-black wheels. As should be obvious, these editions wear the Pirelli tires, specifically P Zeros. The interior carries the motif inside. The seats are clad in black Alcantara and feature red stitching along with Lamborghini and Pirelli crests on them. The red stripe from the outside also covers the ceiling and seats, too. Naturally, a plaque identifies these models as part of this special-edition series. The Aventador's usual mechanical bits hide underneath the two-tone look, meaning each is powered by a 6.5-liter V12 pumping out 691 horsepower with power going to all four wheels. The Pirelli Editions are available for order now and deliveries start in the early summer of 2015.