Vorderman Volkswagen

Making cars go fast really isn’t that difficult. Drop it from a great height and even the Beetle can outrun a Porsche . But doing so that everything ends in smiles instead of tears isn’t quite so easy. It takes a lot of planning and the sort of attention to detail that Freud would have a lot to say about. In Carfection’s latest video, Henry Catchpole speaks to the fastest driver on earth, Andy Wallace, about the fastest production car on earth, the Bugatti Chiron. The top speed of the Chiron is something of a mystery because Bugatti won’t actually let it off the leash completely. That may be annoying, but Wallace gives you an idea of the forces being applied to the car that make achieving more speed so difficult. Rumor has it that tire technology is what’s preventing the Chiron from hitting 300 mph right now. That sounds odd until you consider the fact that despite only weighing 2.5 grams, the dust cap at the edge of the rim spins up to 3,000 G at the car’s limited top speed of 420...

You know, it must be difficult to be the curator at the Lamborghini Museum at the company’s Sant’Agata Bolognese headquarters. The term “embarrassment of riches” springs immediately to mind, but how do you pick when everything available is either wild to look at or beautiful beyond description? Well, the museum’s latest effort tracks Lamborghini’s appearances in films, Hollywood and otherwise. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The exhibit runs like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, tracking some of the automaker’s most memorable an important filmic models. Naturally, the iconic orange Miura P400 from “The Italian Job” (1969, directed by Peter Collinson, starring Michael Caine) will be one of the highlights of the show. Not just for the car’s exquisite beauty, but also for the iconic opening scene. A Countach meant to evoke the one used in “The Cannonball Run” (1981, directed by Hal Needham, starring a frankly ludicrous cast) will bring visitors back to fun of the race from Conne...

At his April meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump said he would stick to his guns on a policy whose aim was to keep German cars from rolling down Fifth Avenue. That’s according to a report from German magazine, Wirtschaftwoche , which claims that President Trump was intent on keeping German vehicles out of the US market through burdensome tariffs of 25%, though he had threatened to impose 35% tariffs in 2017. While the president is reported to have used Mercedes in his rhetoric, such tariffs would have had an especially negative effect on Audi and Porsche, which, unlike BMW and Mercedes, has no US factories. Volkswagen, too, would have been at risk since only the Passat and Atlas are currently made in the US. Such large tariffs would cost German automakers $5.25 billion and would effectively scupper the business case for German automakers, from whom the US receives the most automotive imports in the EU. Last year, the Volkswagen Group delivered m...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Audi , Bentley , BMW , Bugatti , Mercedes-Benz , Porsche , Rolls-Royce , Volkswagen Except hundreds of thousands are built here, though not Audi or Porsche. Continue reading Trump reportedly says he wants to wipe German cars off U.S. streets Trump reportedly says he wants to wipe German cars off U.S. streets originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 May 2018 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2svFmw5

Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross have christened the Americas Rallycross Championship, taking a 1-2 finish at the inaugural event. While the series is called Americas Rallycross, the first event actually took place at the Silverstone Circuit in England. Driver Tanner Foust drove his rallycross Beetle to a top-three finish in each of the four qualifying rounds before winning his semifinal race. That put him on pole for the Final where he took the first checkered flag of the season. “I’m super stoked to get the first Americas Rallycross win with Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross today,” said Foust after the race. “The team’s worked really hard, giving me and Scott awesome Beetles to race, and I’m glad we got to wrap up a victory for them and Rockstar after a long trip away from home.” Teammate Scott Speed had contact in his second qualifying race which set his car back. But he was able to fight back to second place by the end of the Final. The new Americas Rallycross series is a four-even...

Looking for a new ride? Want a loaded and lightly used car for a substantially lower price than a new one? Today’s Find Of The Day, a 2014 Jetta GLI Autobahn, might interest you. As I type this, new MK7 Jettas are hitting dealerships across the country. Maybe you’ve even seen a 2019 Jetta commercial or two. And while we impatiently wait for the reveal of the next Jetta GLI, let’s take a look a great example of an MK6 one: this 2014 Jetta GLI Autobahn. While the GLI has always been the more serious sedan sibling to the GTI, the MK6 broke from the model’s history a bit. Starting with this version, the sedan moved a bit downscale while the hatchback moved a bit upscale. The hatch has a higher quality interior, a more evolved version of the 2.0T engine, and a few more bits and baubles than the trunked car. The GLI sports more room and a larger trunk. The GLI also doesn’t hold its value quite as well as the GTI. Which brings us to our find. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Thi...

Reports last week that the manual GTI wouldn’t be offered in Australia in 2019 stoked fears of manual lovers everywhere, even though it was just a brief interlude while the next GTI was being prepared. It was kind of like what VW America did with the Jetta GLI this year, so CarBuzz asked them what their plans were for the GTI. “As things currently stand, the US market is due to have both DSG and manuals on the 2019 GTI,” Mark Gillies, VW USA product and tech communications director, told CarBuzz. Australia’s  Motoring published the initial reports claiming that the three-pedal model would be gone in 2019, but that they anticipated the return of the manual GTI with the arrival of the Mk8–expected as a model year 2019 in Germany, incidentally.  Its return was expected despite sales figures in Australia heavily favoring the DSG transmission. There, the two-pedal outsells the three by a factor of 9 to 1, according to Motoring. Here in America, meanwhile, the DSG still outsel...

German automotive supplier Schaeffler has converted an Audi RS3 TCR into a ridiculously powerful EV capable of accelerating from 0-124 mph in under seven seconds. The creation, called the Schaeffler 4ePerformance, features four 295 hp Formula E motors that make a combined output of 1,182 hp. Each wheel receives its own dedicated motor, however each axle has its own a gearbox housing, giving the vehicle two electric twin axles. This allows for torque vectoring all-wheel drive, enabling the software to send the ideal amount of torque to each wheel at exactly the right time. It features two lithium-ion batteries with a combined capacity of 64 kWh. “For Schaeffler, this vehicle is a test laboratory on wheels thanks to its free scaling options for the drive power. We are currently testing and developing our own driving dynamics control system, which is based on physical vehicle and wheel modeling,”said motorsports director at Schaeffler, Simon Opel. “We have been learning a lot especiall...

You’ve heard by now that VW is going after the electric record at Pikes Peak, but what you might not know is that it will be chasing that record with considerably less horsepower than the car that set the record. The eO PP100, which set the electric record back in 2016 was making something like 1,600 hp. The I.D. R only makes about 670 hp.  There are a couple of other areas where it improves over the record holder, though. The VW team went to extreme lengths to cut weight, making the body out of a carbon fiber-kevlar composite and running through countless simulations to ensure that construction was as lightweight as possible. “Before we actually assembled the I.D. R Pikes Peak, we used computers to analyze a multitude of different configurations,” says Willy Rampf, technical adviser to the project. Every part went through the simulator to make that it was as light as possible, while still being strong enough to contend with the forces exerted through the run. Even the seatbelt...

There’s a love/hate issue with MK4 Golfs and Jettas. While they were stylish and stellar to drive, the mechanicals were a bit…temperamental. Well we’ve found a Jetta that casts doubt on that stereotype. Our latest Ratty Rescue has been around the block quite a few times and could go around a few more. When Volkswagen introduced the MK4 Jetta, the handsome lines and upscale interior really got people’s attention. Buyers flocked to showrooms and some dealers had trouble keeping them in stock. The little cars occupied a sweet spot in the market for a number of years: they were affordable yet looked more expensive than they really were. They were the “cool cars” of the era. This 2002 Jetta is in pretty good shape for its age. It’s in even better condition when you consider its mileage: 241,420 miles driven. Wow. And if you look at it from the sides or the back, it looks pretty much like it did in 2002. But the front end needs a facelift. Actually, it’s had a bit of a facelift already: t...

Freundeskreis, as well as being a drive up a mountain every year that happens alongside Worthersee, I’ve just discovered, was a hip hop group based in Stuttgart in the ’90s. So please play Esperanto (below) in the background while you’re browsing through this gallery from the GTI thing. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] [ photos by Jamie Orr ] The post Gallery: Worhtersee Freundeskreis appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2xdeDK7 via IFTTT

If you’re a die-hard Lamborghini enthusiast that doesn’t know what to do with your money, here are some Lamborghini-themed sofas. They come from Design Epicentrum, who recently shared photos of the new sofa design sitting in a two-story hangar in Ontario, Canada. The pair of Lamborghini sofas look right at home among the 50 or so luxury cars in the collection stored at the hangar. The company had a previous design that used the same Lamborghini front end, but the sofa itself didn’t resemble cars seats. A total of 44 units are being produced, so they’re also a collectible, if you’re into that sort of thing. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The company says the standard color of the sofa is deep black, but it can change it to any color for an additional charge. In addition, the customer can personalize the color of the wheels and brake calipers, as well as the Lamborghini front end. Desig...

Volkswagen and Apple are working together on an autonomous shuttle for Apple employees. The shuttle will be based on a Transporter van and comes on the heels of the tech firm’s rapidly sinking fortunes in the autonomous vehicle market. Initially eager to lead the autonomous trend, the Apple Car project launched with high hopes and a budget that was projected to run into the hundreds of millions. According to a report by the New York Times , though, the project quickly ran into trouble as the iPhone-maker found out that designing cars is hard. Apple then decided to turn to automakers, but according to sources speaking to the NYT anonymously, the project quickly ran into trouble there, too. With Apple’s desire to keep data and design in-house, deals with automakers like Mercedes (codename Bruce), BMW, McLaren, and more all fell through. Now, according to the report, Apple has turned to VW (codename Jetstream), itself interested in moving into the autonomous market, to help it with it...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Audi , BMW , Mercedes-Benz , Porsche , Volkswagen , Peugeot , Renault U.S. national security investigation alarms BMW, VW and Daimler. Continue reading U.S. tariff threat hits European automakers' stocks U.S. tariff threat hits European automakers' stocks originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 May 2018 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2sb8sBF

The 100th Bugatti Chiron has rolled off the assembly line and is heading to a customer in the Middle East. The milestone supercar is a great display of just how personalized a Chiron can get straight from the factory. The exterior body consists entirely of dark blue carbon fiber, topped with a matte finish for the very first time. The iconic Bugatti side line has been painted a contrasting Italian red, while the wheels in mink black are a menacing touch. Inside the cabin, the contrasting red scheme continues with a full leather interior dominated by the shade. The French automaker said the 100th Bugatti Chiron cost about €2.85 million ($3.34 million USD). Bugatti said production of the Chiron is running at full speed, with the company producing about 70 units per year. The Bugatti Chiron will be limited to 500 units, so expect a few more years of production. “I find the 100th Chi...

Volkswagen design head Klaus Bischoff is saying that the production version of the electric ID hatchback will be true to the 2016 concept. Bischoff, talking to Autocar , said that “the proportions, the design cues and the wheel size are the same as the concept. It looks like the show car. We couldn’t do the camera-system rear-view mirrors for legal reasons, nor the electric door handles due to cost. But other than that, it’s pretty much the same.” The upcoming electric vehicle, expected to go on sale next year, looks like a Golf hatchback, designed for a movie set well into the future. On-road testing has started too, with the first pre-production prototypes arriving last month. That leaves VW just 16-months to complete development of the car, and is why the final design is now, well, final. VW CEO Herbert Diess has said that intensive testing would start in September of this year, and that the cars are set to start production near the end of 2019. He expects them to arrive to marke...

We’re back with part two of the main show from Worthersee. Today’s pictures are a little less Golf-focused, and celebrate the weird and wonderful tapestry that is VW’s European fleet. Come back tomorrow for another gallery from the Freundeskreis drive. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The post Gallery: Maria-Worth Pt2 appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2GM5B6j via IFTTT

Filed under: Videos , Volkswagen , Minivan/Van 20 minutes. That's how long it took someone to stop and ask me about the cherry red Volkswagen California I was driving. Continue reading 2018 Volkswagen California Video Review | Camper van Tease 2018 Volkswagen California Video Review | Camper van Tease originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 May 2018 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2kkOMGY

Ever see a Mark 2 Golf that could blow the doors off of a Nissan GTR? Well, you just might get to. This Mark 2 Golf uses the 3.2L VR6 engine from a Golf R32. With big turbos and an even bigger intercooler helping it put out somewhere around 735 hp. But the GTR has all-wheel drive, we hear you cry! Let’s just say that this Golf doesn’t exactly have its original driveline. Watch the video to see who wins, and just how fast both cars can run in the standing 1,000m The post Watch: R32-Powered 735 Hp MK2 vs Nissan GTR appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2KQqMa1 via IFTTT

We’re back with more photos from Worthersee, and today we’re focusing on the main show. The event takes up a lot of space and spins off in numerous directions, but the core is still in Maria-Worth, a small town that’s effectively entirely taken over by VWs.  As ever the show was full of classic Golfs (this is a show to celebrate the GTI, after all) and some highly modified newer fare, as well. The more modern stuff seems to have been taken by the same touring car fever that VW is cashing in on with the TCR Concept. Still low and wide, the aesthetic seems to have moved away from ludicrous camber toward ludicrous box-flares. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Unfortunately, one of the weirder European trends (cars wrapped to look like candy bars) is underrepresented here, too. Fortunately, there’s a Miyazaki-style cartoon girl on the hood of one of the cars to satisfy your weirdo-Euro tastes. Check back in with us tomorrow when we’ll have another set of shots from Maria-Wor...

Extreme camber is one of those love it or hate it kind of things but regardless of how you feel, good workmanship is good workmanship. This 2013 Golf Sportwagen from Toronto is just such an example. It’s full of contradictions. Extreme camber, but a reserved color palette. A trunk full of stereo but heated mirrors (because visibility is always in style). One eye on the extremes and one on subtlety. It makes for a handsome combination and according to the seller, it’s all been done the right way. It sits on AirLift Performance shocks and bags, which were installed by pros at Switches and Thangs. It’s also been tuned with an Integrated Engineering (intake manifold, air filter, ECU tune, and more) and a USP downpipe so that its engines sounds and performs as well its stereo does. The seller is asking $25,000 for it, but that is in Canadian money, so that’s, like, what? 40 bucks and some change in America? [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Full list of mods: Interior: – UK A...

Filed under: Audi , BMW , Mercedes-Benz , Volkswagen , Volvo , Emerging Technologies , Gadgets , Infotainment , Smartphone , Technology Not Android Auto — Android Automotive, the OS starting with Audi, Volvo Continue reading When Android Automotive goes in the dash, Google wins — and automakers lose data When Android Automotive goes in the dash, Google wins — and automakers lose data originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 May 2018 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2rZhS30

Volkswagen is upping performance but dropping a pedal for Australia’s 2019 Golf GTI. The Performance Edition will now be the standard GTI down under for 2019. That means the 241 hp model, not the 226 hp base car, which is being dropped for emissions reasons. The Performance Edition also gets an electro-mechanical front diff, as well as front and rear brakes from the Golf R. But what it loses is a six-speed manual. Sent to the bin, replaced by a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch box. It drops the three-door body too, becoming five-door only. Why? Changing emissions standards in Europe is the reason given, although it’s not clear how exactly that affected the GTI. “Change brought about by the advent of Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) in Europe is one of the major challenges confronting European brands in this market,” VW’s Australian marketing manager Ben Wilks told Motoring Australia. He added that “this GTI embodies what customers want.” But don’t worry, Aus...

The dumpster fire that was the end of Red Bull Global Rallycross series may have escaped your notice, but suffice it to say that the series is well and truly dead. That leaves VW with a couple of winning Beetles, a pair of enormously talented drivers, and no series to race. No series to race until now, that it. Rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the GRC, Americas Rallycross (ARX) will be a four-race series over the course of the summer starting (weirdly) in England at Silverstone’s new rallycross circuit. ARX will be an offshoot of the World Rallycross Championship (WRX) which mostly runs in Europe. “Having World Rallycross expand its reach to the U.S. is going to make the competition so much more accessible for fans to better understand the sport,” said Tanner Foust, driver, in a statement. “ARX will be a great platform to find new fans and spread the word about rallycross.” The team will continue to be run with Andretti Motorsport. The same team was responsible for VW’s do...

Well, my bitterness about not being able to attend Worthersee has finally abated, and I’m ready to look at some pictures from the show. How about you? Our pal Jamie Orr was in Austria with his Citi Golf and a few American friends (more on that later this week) and kindly agreed to snap a couple of shots for. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Today, we’re focusing on the Worthersee mainstage. Run by VW, the stage was a showcase not only for the new Golf GTI TCR Concept but for the double engined Pikes Peak Golf and some other great stuff, as well. Check it all out and come back tomorrow for Pt 1 of the real tuner stuff from Maria am Worth.  The post Gallery: The Worthersee 2018 Mainstage appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2GEUdsQ via IFTTT

Filed under: Aftermarket , Volkswagen The Wörthersee VW meet in Europe may be the biggest and most famous, but it's far from the only one. An American counterpart, SoWo: The European Experience, kicked off this weekend in Georgia for European cars. And as with Wörthersee, VW had some new custom vehicles to show off. It brought modified versions of the Jetta, Golf, Arteon, Atlas and Tiguan. Continue reading VW highlights five custom cars from Atlas to Arteon VW highlights five custom cars from Atlas to Arteon originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 May 2018 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2LkHlvK

Germany’s  Autohaus Nauen  has finally gotten its hands on an  RS6 Avant  Performance Nogaro Edition and its proudly showing it off. As if an  RS6 Avant  needed to be any more special, the Performance Nogaro Edition is a joint project between Audi and Abt Sportsline. Pumping out 695 hp and 649 lb-ft of  torque , the wagon gets to 60 in just 3.7 seconds and will go all the way up to 199 mph (if you opt for the Dynamic Package Plus). [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Named and colored after the RS2 from 1994, it comes with 21-inch  black wheels  and an ES titanium  exhaust . Starting at €124,200, it won’t last at dealerships for very long. [source:  AutoHaus Nauen , via  Motor1 ] The post Gallery: The RS6 Avant Performance Nogaro Edition Makes it to Dealers appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2GvhpK4 via IFTTT

The mercury’s rising and the project cars are coming out of hibernation. If you’re anything like us, you’re as excited to let your tires hit the pavement as you are to see all the great cars that have been hiding in garages. So you’ll be excited to hear that VW’s back this summer with a fleet of five cars specially modified for duty at this summer’s car shows. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The first, we’ve already seen. Tanner Foust’s SEMA Atlas is an overlanding concept that takes the already assertive Atlas and butches it right up with aggressive tires, flared wheel arches, a raised bumper, light bars, and a ladder onto the top of the SUV, where a roof rack will allow you to pack everything you need for a night under the stars. “Overlanding has risen in popularity in the past couple of years,” said Tanner Foust. “People are looking for ways to get outdoors and go on adventure trips with the whole family. The Atlas is perfect for off-pavement trips, and I wanted this co...

Filed under: Green , Motorsports , Videos , Volkswagen , Coupe , Electric , Racing Volkswagen is very serious about taking the electric car record at Pikes Peak this year with the I.D. R Pikes Peak race car. And any racing team knows that to do well, you need a car that can stick to the road, hence VW's extensive aerodynamics testing, which is shown off in the video above. Continue reading Watch VW test the I.D. R Pikes Peak race car aerodynamics Watch VW test the I.D. R Pikes Peak race car aerodynamics originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2018 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2IsSDAr

When someone says that their car is ‘barely a build,’ what comes to mind?  Maybe a couple of aftermarket bolt-ons or some stick-on body modifications?  Our idea of ‘barely a build’ is dramatically different from forum user raamzz’s – his Volkswagen Jetta build left barely in the dust a long time ago.  For this week’s Forum Friday, let’s take a look at this awesome Jetta build, and how a sudden turn of events has left him with a lot more to do. A Fresh Start When raamzz picked up this ’04 Jetta, it didn’t look like much. It had no upgrades, and the steel rims it came on were quickly replaced with Longbeach rims that the previous owner had and gave him for free. After a good cleaning, it was time to start working on this build. He started by replacing the front fender because of rust and rebuilding the clutch because the previous owner totally destroyed it. Slightly smoked tail lights, and a cargo rack on top helped to bring the look of the car together, complete with ...

Volkswagen  is the latest automaker to opt out of the 2018 Paris Motor Show. The German automaker joins Ford, Nissan, and Infiniti in backing out of the biennial show. VW may opt out of other international auto shows going forward as well, with the company saying it is “continually reviewing its participation in international motor shows,” in a statement made to  Automotive News  Wednesday. VW has been keen to cut costs in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal, trimming motorsports programs and auto show presentations wherever it can. Luckily for Paris show organizers, the majority of VW Group’s brands will still be present at the show – including Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat. The automaker said it would still have “various communications activities” for media during media days for the Paris show, which will run from October 2nd and 3rd. VW’s decision to opt out of Paris is representative of a r...

Well, Volkswagen has dusted off the old rhyming dictionary and is using it sell the Jetta with a new multi-part ad series. The ads are named “Turb-Whoa,” “Bass,” “Rings,” “Puzzle,” and “App-Magnet” and more, and highlight the new model’s fresh renewal and its high-end features. The ads not only shine a light on some of the Jetta’s finer qualities, they also feature the music of 12 up and coming artists on the Interscope Records label, including YUNGBLUD, Gryffin, Louis the Child, Kali Uchis, and other artists whose names make me feel old and out of touch. “To relaunch one of Volkswagen’s most iconic vehicles, we wanted to convey a youthful and fun side of the brand,” said Todd Riddle, EVP, executive creative director at Deutsch. “We tapped into different production techniques and utilized music in ways we haven’t before. It is a perfect reflection of the brand’s soul while signaling an important progression with the new Jetta.” We drove the new Jetta in April and by our estimati...

Although making your propulsion electric solves one of the problems presented by the altitude of Pikes Peak, it still only solves one of the problems. Aerodynamicists face serious problems at altitude because the air becomes less dense the higher up you go (that’s why naturally aspirated engines struggle so much high up: there’s less oxygen). But the other issue with less-dense air is that it makes aero elements less effective. It makes sense when you think about. Less air density, less stuff to push you down, which in turn means that you get less grip through the corners. That’s why Volkswagen Motorsport had to spend so long in the wind tunnel when it was designing the I.D. R. To start, they designed a ½ scale model to figure out which pieces worked the best and how to maximize downforce. According to aerodynamicists, it takes many small countless small improvements to make a lot of downforce without being subject to cross winds and the highly variable nature of reality. That m...

Filed under: Etc. , Paris Motor Show , Volkswagen Volkswagen will not display its core brand at the Paris motor show this year, the latest and most prominent carmaker to steer clear of the biennial industry gathering. Continue reading Volkswagen brand to bypass Paris Motor Show Volkswagen brand to bypass Paris Motor Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 May 2018 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen https://ift.tt/2rPX4tD

Spy photographers have caught a  Volkswagen  T-Roc prototype testing in Europe. At first glance, the T-Roc looks like the standard model, but it’s missing its fog lights and has a different exhaust setup in the rear. The quad-exhaust setup suggests this is a hotter variant being tested, possibly a GTI or R variant. There is also a 4Motion badge on the rear hatch, indicating that it’s an all-wheel-drive model. This isn’t the first time spy photographers have caught a hotter T-Roc already being tested. In September 2017, photos of another T-Roc with the same quad-exhaust setup and 4Motion badge surfaced, leading to rumors that the T-Roc R is in the works. [ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Since the compact crossover is based on the Volkswagen Golf, the German automaker can easily use different engines under the hood. That means power output ranging from 220 horsepower to 306 hp is a possibility, depending on ...

Road & Track recently released a list of all the cars it has ever tested that can accelerate to 60 mph in less than three seconds and 60% of them are made by the Volkswagen Group. The car industry today may be full of ludicrously fast cars that would put race cars from just a few years ago to shame, but there are two performance figures that still set a car out as truly fast. The first is a sub-seven minute lap at the Nurburgring and the second is a sub-three second 0-60 sprint. A lot of cars are fast. Only 19 have hit highway speeds in two seconds in  Road & Track testing. The list of cars would be familiar to anyone in Dubai and contains no shortage of super- and hyper-cars (with the exception of the M5, which, respect where it’s due, punches well above its weight). All the usual suspects are here: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, McLaren, etc. But as you go down the list, you can’t help but notice the developing trend. If empires are all obsessed with power, the Vo...

Are you in the market for a stylish sedan that sticks out from the crowd? Our latest Find of the Day will definitely get you noticed. And its beauty is more than skin-deep: it’s in great shape with a low asking price. The Volkswagen CC is an interesting model for Volkswagen. This fashion-forward sedan sheds the traditional VW image of upright and practical sedans. It’s a car for those looking for something more stylish than a regular sedan. But don’t let those sexy lines fool you; underneath the curvy body, it’s basically a previous-gen (B6) Passat. Those underpinnings give it a solid ride and predictable Germanic handling. But it’s no sports car. Or is it? VWVortex member AndreiMTM has taken his 2013 CC to new levels. To start, the car sits on ST coilovers, so it not only looks nice but it corners well too. The 19″ Audi S5 wheels with sticky Firestone summer tires also sharpen up the handling. The 2.0T engine sports a Unitronic Stage 1 tune and a Go Fast Bits diverter valve. There...

Although racing has made remarkable and heroic strides in safety technology, there’s still inevitable danger to driving at high speeds on a tight track with other people. To wit, Dries Vanthoor’s recent crash at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Audi was mostly disappointed by its results at this weekend’s race, but it could only be satisfied with the performance of its R8 following Audi Sport Team WRT’s crash during the race. The incident happened in the evening when the Audi’s driver, Dries Vanthoor, tried to avoid a car that was all but stopped on an apex. Vanthoor nearly pulled the move off, threading the needle between the slow car and a lower-class Cayman GT4. Unfortunately, he just clipped the Cayman, which may have caused a puncture, put one wheel in the grass and lost the back end at the next kink. Ultimately, even though crash looked like it was anything but comfortable for the Belgian driver, it definitely wasn’t as horrifying as it could have been if he’d run straight into ...