2019 Volkswagen Passat 2.0t Wolfsburg Edition on 2040-cars

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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.

Watch VW Group Night kick off the Frankfurt festivities

The Frankfurt Motor Show is Volkswagen's home affair. As a result, the whole of the automaker group makes a big splash, even before the show doors open. We'll be live from the Frankfurt floor starting early tomorrow morning, but tonight we're posted up in the stands at the always-entertaining Volkswagen Group Night. To give you a taste of what it's like to be there, we're going to be shooting some man-on-the-scenes video as the night progresses. Below you'll find videos of all the best that VW Group brands – Audi, Lamborghini, VW, the lot – have to offer, as quick as we can upload them. So, enjoy the Short Cut Videos you see here. And stay tuned as we add more to the tally, below. And, of course, be sure to check in on Autoblog early and often tomorrow, when we bring you official debuts of new production vehicles and concept cars, a ton of new video content, live image galleries, and lots more.Seat Leon Cross Sport Bentley Bentayga Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder Volkswagen Multivan PanAmerican Edition Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept Audi E-Tron Quattro Concept Audi A4 Ducati Monster 1200 R Volkswagen Tiguan Skoda Superb Combi Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe and Cabrio Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Porsche Mission E Concept Volkswagen Group Night Finale Green Frankfurt Motor Show Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Volkswagen SEAT Skoda Videos Original Video Frankfurt 2015

2015 Volkswagen Golf R [w/video]

Volkswagen hired a photographer to come shoot the handful of journalists that it brought to drive the 2015 Golf R at Buttonwillow Raceway north of Los Angeles. This fact, though unremarkable in and of itself, was something I hadn't noticed until I was well into my track time – probably ten laps deep on a day that would see me run twice that number. In any event, I noticed the intrepid shooter as he was sprinting from one side of the track to the other somewhere before Turn 2, while I was barreling down the main straightaway, still looking through Turn 1. In the roughly two-mile configuration of the track that I drove, Buttonwillow is a big, wide-open circuit, largely flat and with excellent overall visibility. On that layout, and just hours into my Golf R experience, I'd already become confident in endeavoring to push the limits of VW's latest blistering hatch. In fact, the easy nature of driving the thing quickly had me overestimating my pace. So when I saw the photog sprint across the tarmac I instinctively slowed way too much, way too early for Turn 1. Looking back at the incident after I'd pitted for the session, I laughed at myself, knowing I'd have had to be driving almost double my actual speed to put the camera guy in any real danger of being hit. But the experience crystallized what my full test of the R bore out: this is a car that makes you feel much faster than you otherwise would, at least in a competition setting. The 2015 Golf R is an uber hatch that will flatter those hyper-enthusiasts passionate enough to splash out on its steep price tag, but without threatening sales of core models like the GTI and its ilk. That's a good thing for the VW fanboys, to be sure, and, I'd argue, a great thing for the strength of the German brand overall. {C} The R felt both placid and comfortable while I clicked off highway miles in search of the racetrack. My test in California had at least two things in common with the First Drive feature that Steve Ewing brought us with the Golf R in Sweden. First, we both drove European specification cars (though mine didn't suffer from the same sticker abuse that Steve's did). Second, we were both somewhat limited in terms of driving the car in varied, real-world situations. My street route consisted almost entirely of tracking California's I-5 north out of Los Angeles; which any Angelino will tell you is a less-than-riveting mode of travel.