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VW’s Polo GTI World Rallycross racer has now started testing. The car, still wrapped in camouflage, was spotted testing in Mettet, Belgium. The track is host to a World Rallycross Championship event in May. It’s a revised version of the Polo that won the title for the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team in 2017, with a more elaborate rear spoiler and new front bumper and fenders. Current World Rallycross champ Johan Kristoffersson shared driving duties with team owner Petter Solberg as the car completed 25 laps around the circuit. “It was a good day, not so much driving because there was quite a lot of cars there so we didn’t manage to do so many laps, but it’s always nice to do a little shakedown for the car, team and also for the drivers,” Kristoffersson told Motorsport.com. Talking about the car, Kristoffersson said that “Maybe [the difference will be bigger] on the tracks that are a little bit more high-speed, but also of course in rallycross it’s very difficult to say because the gri...

The eighth-generation Audi A6 has been officially introduced ahead of its public debut at 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Following in the footsteps of the new Audi A7 and A8 models, the Audi A6 wears the German automaker’s new design language, featuring “taut surfaces, sharp edges, and striking lines.” Compared to its predecessor, the A6 measures 0.3 inch longer for a total of 16.2 feet. Width has also been increased by 0.5 inch to a total of 6.2 feet, while its height is 0.1 inch taller than before at 4.8 feet. The result is more legroom in the rear, which Audi says not only beats the outgoing model, but its core competitors. Headroom and shoulder room has also been improved, while trunk space remains unchanged at 18.7 cubic feet. When it launches in Europe, the 2019 Aud i A6 will be available with two engines, one diesel and one gasoline. The gasoline powerplant is a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine offering 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, while the 3.0-liter TDI brings 286...

Dreaming of a screaming spring ride? Look no further than our latest Find of the Day: a 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V. And guess what? This one’s not red! If you knew nothing about Scirocco 16Vs and started searching for used one for sale, you’d think they only came in one color. So here’s a nice change of pace from the red sea of ‘Roccos: a not-red one. In fact, this model sports two colors that are far from common: black and bright blue. It’s quite the striking combination, and very original. The heart of this fastback is the engine. The standard 1.8L twin cam 16-valve engine has been modified extensively. There’s too much to cover here, but enhancements include upgraded cams, intake, head work, forged pistons, a modified transmission, a Peloquin limited slip differential, stainless steel headers, and a ton more. There’s also upgraded brakes, brake lines, and exhaust. The car sits on H&R coils. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] On top of the bold paint scheme, the exter...

Volkswagen’s I.D. VIZZION concept is saying ‘hello’ to the world — literally — ahead of its debut next week in Geneva. The concept demonstrates a car that’s fully electric and fully autonomous, foregoing a steering wheel or visible controls of any kind. Volkswagen says that the I.D. VIZZION “demonstrates how elegant and emotional the design of a vehicle of the future can be.” It stands out, according to the company, for the mobility it lends to members of the population who can’t drive on their own, such as the aged. A virtual host interacts with passengesrs via voice and gesture control and learns the personal preferences of each one so that it can adapt to them individually. With a total system power of 225 kW in the 5.11 metre long body powering all four wheels with two electric motors, it’s capable of a top speed is 180 km/h and a range of up to 665 kilometres with use of braking regeneration. This is the fourth concept carrying Volkswagen’s I.D. monicker used on its e...

A trio of purportedly official Audi press photos of the next generation A6 have leaked a week ahead of the car’s official debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The photos, it must be said, bear all the hallmarks of traditional Audi press photography. The cars are wearing Ingolstadt license plates, are shot at very Audi angles, and have a lot in common with the spy shots we’ve seen so far. With headlights whose elements look just like the car we’ve spied, a shape that’s just right, and a grille that fits somewhere between the A7 and the A8 (something Audi’s head of design, Mark Lichte, promised), these photos are very convincing. What we couldn’t quite see under the camo are the sharp character lines on the car’s haunches and along the hood that these images reveal. Not completely out of character for Audi—the A7, after all, has a few sharp lines of its own—the sharpness of the creases does make it stand out from the rest of the Audi family. Again, though, that fits with what we’v...

Every single instruction you’re given before driving out onto a frozen-over lake is terrifying. For real, though. Ignorance is bliss. Before creeping up to the banks of Fiddlers Lake, on the outskirts of Canada’s Northwest Territorial capitol, Yellowknife, I wasn’t scared at all from the comfort of a new Tiguan. I’ve been on ice and snow before and I’ve seen enough TV to have an unearned confidence when it comes to driving on ice. Then the experts started talking. Don’t wear your seatbelt (because you don’t want to be trapped if the car goes under), leave your window open (so that the pressure doesn’t block the doors on you), don’t worry if you hear cracking (it’s when the cracking stops that you have start worrying), and if you do go under, look for the dark patch, not the bright. Oh, good. Because I was worried that all of my life’s experiences would help protect me against a worst-case scenario. But the deep north is an upside down kind of place. Fiddlers Lake is a tiny body of...

Techart is heading to the 2018 Geneva Motor Show with at least four Porsche projects. Headlining Techart’s lineup is the world premiere of its new Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo project, called the GrandGT Supreme. The exterior receives a new Techart GrandGT styling package, along with 22-inch Techart Formula IV wheels, a Techart sport exhaust system with titanium and carbon fiber tips, as well as a custom painted body in Racing Green. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The interior of the customized Panamera Sport Turismo gets an overhaul as well, with un-embossed Nappa leather being used. The famous tuner says the vegetable-tanned hides are free of chromium and are finished solvent-free. There’s also a custom Techart steering wheel and painted trim panels, matching the exterior body shade. Power has been increased to 640 horsepower, while maximum torque is 664 pound-feet. As a result, the stylish Sport Turismo goes zero-to-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 3.4 seconds. Joining the...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Audi , BMW , Mercedes-Benz , Porsche , Volkswagen , Emissions , Technology , Diesel Bad day for automakers and owners, 'great day for clean air in Germany' Continue reading Cities can ban diesel cars, German court rules Cities can ban diesel cars, German court rules originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2EYFskV

Italdesign Giugiaro is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new supercar at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. At the same show last year, the Italian design house unveiled the first car to be sold under its name, the Zerouno. The company is following it with a convertible variant at this year’s show, before heading to limited production. Powered by the same 5.2-liter V10 engine found in the Audi R8 V10 Plus, the Zerouno Coupe and Zerouno Roadster ride on the same chassis as the Lamborghini Huracan and Audi R8, which makes sense since Italdesign is owned by Audi. The original Zerouno Coupe was limited to just five units, and Italdesign hasn’t announced how many units it will produce for the convertible version. Official pricing has also not been revealed, but reports say the base price is likely to be around $1.8 million, and when nicely equipped, pass the two-million mark. Interestingly, the original founders of Italdesign are no longer with the company. Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo ...

Auditography has made a name for itself by shooting exquisite videos of gorgeous Audis, but it may have outdone itself with its latest video. Taking Audi’s latest crazy wagon and placing it next to its daddy, this video shows off all the excellence that is the RS4. Despite being separated by years, the two are actually similar in a lot of ways. Both have a twin-turbo V6, both make around 450 hp, and both are stunning to look at. Audi hasn’t just been sitting on its laurels, though, and this video is a great example of what has changed in the nearly two decades that separate these cars. First, there’s just the way they look. While the B5 RS4 is anything but ugly, you can see where Audi made some concessions to safety. I’m here, primarily, of the bumpers. And even though the B5’s are smaller, the B9’s A-pillars really aren’t big and they’re doing a lot more to protect you, which is a bit of a digression but another example of how hard Audi’s engineers are working. Likely the bigges...

This week’s Ratty Rescue is an abandoned project. This MK2 GTI has great potential, but in its current state, it’s not going to turn any heads. Can you finish what the current owner started? This 1986 GTI needs a bit of work to bring it back to its former glory. The good news is the basics are there. But it needs a dedicated owner to either keep the car going down the path the owner started it on, or take it in a completely different direction. It really is a blank-slate car. Unlike other Ratty Rescues we’ve covered, let’s start with the not-so-good stuff. First, there’s an ABA 2.0 in the engine bay. We’re not sure why. It seems like the owner, VWVortex member joeyyphillips , isn’t sure either as he bought the car with the engine installed. While the 2.0 isn’t a thrill-inducing engine, it does have 115 horsepower compared to the 102 in the original 1.8L 8V engine. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The 5-speed manual transmission allows you to wring out those additional 13 ho...

Filed under: Volkswagen , Convertible , Crossover , Future But will it come to the United States? Continue reading Volkswagen T-Roc convertible coming in 2020 Volkswagen T-Roc convertible coming in 2020 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Feb 2018 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2GLr7J3

Filed under: Government/Legal , Volkswagen , Emissions , Sedan , Diesel Jetta owner had sought $725,000 Continue reading VW settles first U.S. diesel owner lawsuit as trial was set to begin VW settles first U.S. diesel owner lawsuit as trial was set to begin originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Feb 2018 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2CFsOFo

Volkswagen has reported record earnings in 2017. Or, as they have so eloquently put it, “systematic implementation of the strategy is paying off.” The Volkswagen Group reported today that its earnings, deliveries, and profits were all up significantly for 2017, with some of those numbers hitting record highs. Looking ahead, we – like the entire industry – are facing major challenges and radical change,” said Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG. “The excellent financial result provides a strong basis for this and gives us every reason to be confident. Overall, the VW Group reported revenues of EUR 230.7 billion, or around US $283.9 billion. That’s thanks largely to the healthy performance of VW Financial Services. Charges related to North American TDI models impacted profits, but the total still climbed by EUR 2.4 billion to hit EUR 17.0 billion for the year. Deliveries to customers were also a record high. VW Group companies delivered 10.7 million vehicles in 2017. That’s up by a...

Hmm. Okay, then. In the realm of harmless mysteries, convertible crossovers rank pretty high—just above Turkish Delight and below the Shake Weight (seriously, how did that happen?). But VW apparently knows something that I don’t and has decided that what the T-Roc really needs is less rigidity. The T-Roc cabriolet will be VW’s first drop-top crossover (one wonders why) and will be built in Osnabrück, where Karmann used to make its cabrios and where the Golf Cabriolet was made until relatively recently. So that’s kind of nice. Apparently, VW has a lot of faith in this project because it’s investing €80 million to shepherd the T-Roc into the realm of reality. “Volkswagen is evolving into an SUV brand. The T-Roc is already setting new standards in the compact SUV segment,” said Herbert Diess, CEO of the VW brand, in a statement. “I am especially pleased to note that we can count on the Osnabrück team’s decades of experience with convertibles. The Osnabrück plant now has bright prospec...

Vinyl is in, and we’re not talking about tight pants or the way records have suddenly pulled a righteous comeback. The sticky, self-healing exterior treatment for cars gives owners nearly unlimited possibilities with what they can do to transform the look of their ride. We checked in with the thread “Who else has wrapped their GTI” to get a real-world look at how forum members are re-imagining their Golfs. It’s the perfect place to get ideas if you’re thinking a wrap could be the thing for your car, with a wide variety of styles and colors represented. What’s in a Wrap? A sticker for my car, you say? If you think that sounds like it could look tacky, don’t be turned off, this isn’t the kind you stick on your bumper. Wraps are made out of a vinyl material that’s exceptionally resilient and closely resembles a real paint job on your car. For a paint job of similar quality, you would have to pay double or even triple the price of a wrap, and the vinyl lasts for around two years. Many...

SEAT has long been one of the world’s more mystifying brands. Alive thanks largely to tie-ups with other brands, as part of one of the world’s largest automakers and with things going pretty well, there was no need to find new brands to partner with. So it made up one of its own. CUPRA, SEAT’s in-house spice cabinet, has now been spun off as a standalone brand that will get its own floor space in SEAT dealerships across Europe. Like Audi Sport, CUPRA will handle racing (taking over from SEAT Sport) and develop sportier versions of SEAT’s cars alongside it. The brand is being aimed at enthusiasts and SEAT hopes that it leads to doubling sales for the SEAT group in 5-7 years. So what vehicle did it choose as its introduction? What car will fire up Europe’s enthusiasts and act as a halo, forming the image of the new brand in the minds of enthusiasts? The CUPRA Ateca. To borrow a phrase from FX’s Archer : “Womp, womp.” For those among you not intimately familiar with a Spanish subbra...

Skoda is bringing a hotter Octavia to the Geneva Motor Show. The Octavia RS is getting a Challenge Plus package to make a sportier version of the RS 245. The Octavia is Skoda’s compact sedan and wagon, sharing the VW MQB platform with the Mk 7 Golf and third-generation Audi A3. The Octavia RS uses a 2.0L TSI engine that makes 226 hp, linked to a six-speed DSG dual-clutch box. The new Challenge Plus package adds new styling tweaks and new equipment inside and out. The Challenge Plus package will be an addition to the RS 245 spec Octavia. That car gets a boost to 245 hp and uses a seven-speed transmission with a limited-slip differential. Skoda hasn’t said if the Challenge Plus will make more power, but expect it to have sportier looks and sportier handling. Skoda’s new digital instrument panel, similar to the VW digital cluster, is also coming to the Octavia. The new Octavia RS Challenge Plus will be on display in Geneva at the start of next month. The post Skoda Adding Challenge P...

Audi Tradition is bringing some of its best classics to more than 20 events during 2018. They’ll be bringing out cars from the heritage collection to celebrate the birthday of August Horch and mark 50 years of the Audi 100. The season starts with the Techno Classica show held in March in Essen. Audi is celebrating 50 years of the 100 at the show, with three special 100s on display alongside an Auto Union Type D and the Audi 200 quattro. At the Schloss Dyck Classic Days in August, Audi Tradition will be showing luxury cars to honor the 150th birthday of August Horch. The display will feature Horch models from the 1920s and 1930s. At Sachsen Classic, Horch models will take the starting line. At the 25th Goodwood Festival of Speed, Audi Tradition will be running an Auto Union Type C 16-cylinder racer from 1936. It will be headed up the Goodwood hill. In the German town of Daun, Audi will bring the Audi Sport quattro S1 that Walter Rohrl used to break records in the Pike’s Peak hill cli...

Hot on the heels of a record-breaking January, Volkswagen has opened the Port of Benicia in California. The port will service the US’s northwest, delivering cars for VW, Audi, Bentley, and Porsche. “Selecting the Port of Benicia as our Northwestern U.S. port is part of our growth strategy in North America,” said Anu Goel, Executive VP for Group After Sales & Services. “In utilizing the Port of Benicia, we will be able to bring Audi, Bentley and Volkswagen products closer to our California customers and provide enhanced customer service in this key market. The port is a $1.3 million dollar investment for the region and will create nearly 40 jobs. The 645-acre port is expected to bring about 220,000 vehicles into the country over the next five years and will serve 81 dealers. The ships will bring Tiguans, e-Golfs and 2019 Jettas to the US, as well as A4s, A5 Sportbacks, and Q5s. The Arteon will also be among the vehicles coming in through the Port of Benicia, helping to lower del...

Today’s Find of the Day comes to us from the Pacific Northwest. This slick MK2 GTI is looking for a new home. If you like it you’ll have to act fast: the auction ends this Thursday. The MK2 GTI debuted in 1985. Much like the first generation model, the all-new hot hatchback had a high compression 8-valve engine mated to a manual transmission and a sport-tuned suspension. In 1987 Volkswagen turned up the heat with when they added the twin cam 16-valve engine. For the first time in its history, the Rabbit-on-steroids came with two engine options: a 102HP 1.8 liter 8-valve or a high-revving 123HP 1.8L 16-valve motor. While 21 horsepower might not sound like much, in a lightweight platform like the second gen Golf, it made a substantial difference. While accounts are varied, the 20% increase in power shaved around 2 seconds off the 0-60 time. This 1987 GTI 16V is quite the time capsule. After 30 years on the road, the previous owners have kept the car almost entirely stock. The car has a...

We all like comfort food. It’s not sexy, it may even be bland, but it keeps us feeling full and fulfilled. Meatloaf, a basic steak and potatoes, a hot turkey plate – all of these items serve that purpose. I don’t know enough about German cuisine to guess what constitutes comfort food in Wolfsburg, and I don’t want to stereotype with guesses about spaetzle and schnitzel. Whatever passes for hale and hearty fare in Lower Saxony likely shares a lot with the feel of the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. Big, boxy, and brawny-looking, the blocky Atlas has one main mission – get up to seven folks from point A to B simply and comfortably. While there are plenty of modern features, that doesn’t mean there’s frills or design silliness, and while it offers enough power to do the job, it’s not precisely built for speed. Full disclosure: Sometimes an auto journalist can arrange a press-car loan when traveling. I was in Los Angeles and Orange County for a full week for events, so I arranged for a press loa...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Volkswagen , Diesel Continue reading VW monkey and Hitler comments don't pose a problem, judge rules VW monkey and Hitler comments don't pose a problem, judge rules originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2odS0yq

An image alleging to be of a high performance Lambroghini Aventador’s interior have been disseminated to the internet. I know. What are the odds? The picture shows a gauge cluster with the name Aventador SVJ emblazoned upon it. While the meaning of the initialism is unclear, a look at the brand’s history can, at least, provide us with an educated guess. Many past Lambos have sported the SV appendage. The letters stand for Super Veloce, which is Italian for super fast. The J, though, is less common but not altogether unprecedented. Previous Lamborghinis have sported the Jota moniker, whose name comes from brand development driver Bob Wallace’s attempt to race in Appendix J racing in the ‘70s. The name was attached to a Miura for Wallace’s purposes and then affixed to a Diablo in the ‘90s. Like the Lambos Jota that preceded the Aventador, we expect the SVJ to be a hardcore performer utilizing the same physics defying technology that propelled the Huracan Performante to record break...

According to Volkswagen , the I.D. Vizzion Concept will show the potential of its new range of I.D. models. Set to make its debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show next month, the Volkswagen I.D. Vizzion is an all-electric, self-driving concept featuring a futuristic interior and controls. The I.D. family of vehicles is Volkswagen’s largest model and innovative product campaign in its history, as the German automaker tries to move forward from its massive diesel scandal by investing into all-electric vehicles. The I.D. Vizzion Concept is Volkswagen’s first autonomous driving vehicle and serves as the fourth member of the I.D. family. The sedan will show the direction Volkswagen is taking in the technology and design of its future vehicles. There’s no steering wheel or visible controls inside the concept because it drives, steers, and navigates autonomously in traffic. Passengers can communicate with a virtual host through voice and gesture control. Eventually, the virtual host will kno...

Have you ever wanted to save a car and give to a charity? Our latest Ratty Rescue allows you to do both. Add a cool car to your fleet, and help animals in need. Our latest find, courtesy of VWVortex user jhk5200 who posted this in our forums , is a 1983 Volkswagen GTI. The auction for this hot hatch is at Insurance Auto Auctions , a company that specializes in “total loss, recovered theft, fleet lease, donation and rental vehicles.” The key word in that statement is donation . If I’m reading the listing correctly, this sale of this little Rabbit benefits the Humane Society of the United States . The first thing you’ll notice about this MK1 GTI is that it is a pretty complete car. The body trim, badges, and the OEM “Snowflake” wheels are all present. Sure the body has some paint fade, and someone tested some spray paint on the rear hatch and C-pillars, but it’s all there. The ride height even looks stock. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Inside, things are just as good. Th...

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show , Volkswagen , Sedan , Autonomous , Concept Cars , Electric , Luxury It also kind of looks like a lot of other electric sedans. Continue reading VW's fourth I.D. concept is a fully autonomous sedan VW's fourth I.D. concept is a fully autonomous sedan originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2C7bUUq

With record growth in January for the Volkswagen brand and wild growth at Audi and SEAT, it was only reasonable that the Group would be doing well. With a total of 898,700 vehicles delivered across the whole VW Group, sales in January are up 10.1% as compared to last year. Sales were helped along by nearly every department, with brands like SEAT and Audi both increasing sales by 20%, while Skoda, Porsche, and VW were all in the 10% range. Meanwhile, MAN and Scania were both up nearly 30% for the month. In fact, the only division that didn’t grow was Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, which suffered, with sales shrinking by 1.4%. Sales increases were equally well spread across the globe. Every major market performed better in the first month of 2018 than it had in January of 2017. Markets like Brazil and Russia were especially strong, with sales increasing by 45% and 20%, respectively. China, too, saw strong growth of 16%, while the US and Europe grew by 7% and 5%. “The Volkswagen G...

The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta is all business, as buttoned down as a German civil servant and nearly as free of smiles. Unlike many other vehicles available today, this compact four-door lacks any whimsical touches. In recent years, automakers from FCA to Jaguar Land Rover have embraced the “Easter egg” — they’ve sprinkled small, hidden design flourishes throughout their vehicles, whether it’s the silhouette of a Willys jeep climbing the Wrangler’s windshield frit or jaguar-print textures inside the new E-Pace. But the redesigned 2019 Jetta lacks any such frivolity and for good reason. “It’s funny, yeah, but in the moment we… literally we don’t have the time to go into that playground,” said Klaus Bischoff, the head of design at Volkswagen . They’ve simply been too busy creating the company’s next generation of vehicles to mess around with things like Easter eggs. Still, if the product cadence ever slows down, Bischoff said they may take a crack at this in the future. “But maybe w...