New Indy engine could be delayed, three manufacturers in the mix

Competition is a good thing, right? If so, IndyCar racing is slated to improve within the next few years as the series branches out to include multiple engine suppliers. As it currently stands, Honda, which has been the sole engine supplier for IndyCar since 2006, will continue with its current contract through the 2010 season at least. IndyCar organizers would like to have a few new contracts in place by 2011, but the slow economy and fewer dollars earmarked for motorsports may push that date off until 2012.
In addition to Honda, which would like to stay in the series, Audi, Fiat, Porsche and Volkswagen are all currently negotiating with the racing league to offer alternative powertrain options. The current engines all displace 3.5 liters and are limited to 10,300 rpm, making about 650 horsepower running on ethanol fuel. The next contract will likely call for engines displacing 2.0 liters and feature turbocharging and direct injection. Both four cylinder and six cylinder options are being considered.
[ Via: USA Today ]
[ Tag: indy racing league, indycar, indycar engine, indycar racing, indycar series, indycar turbo, IndycarEngine, IndycarRacing, IndycarSeries, IndycarTurbo, IndyRacingLeague ]

Audi A4, Q5 could be built Stateside

Taking a lesson from BMW, who have been successfully manufacturing cars and SUVs in Spartanburg, South Carolina for more than a decade, Audi may seek manufacturing capabilities for their A4 sedan and Q5 SUV in the States. The new Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, just announced last week, may be tasked with building upwards of 200,000 vehicles per year -- including the two Audis. Estimated to cost $973.5 million, the 1,359 acre plant is large enough to handle the domestic production for VW, Audi, and even shareholder Porsche... although the proud automaker from Stuttgart vehemently denies even considering it.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: 2009 A4, 2009 Q5, 2009A4, 2009Q5, A4, Audi, BMW, chattanooga, Manufacturing, Porsche, Q5, Volkswagen ]

EU grants Porsche permission to purchase VW

Porsche is one step closer to its goal of purchasing Volkswagen. Back in April of last year, the German automaker passed the 30-percent mark, forcing it to make an outright offer for The Volkswagen Group in its entirety, which it did. Not too many VW shareholders sold their stake to Porsche, as the bid was for the bare minimum amount allowed by law. Still, the legal requirement had been met, allowing Porsche to continue gobbling up the automaker according to its own timetable. Earlier this year, the VeeDub board approved a request by Porsche to obtain 51-percent of the company for some $15.73 billion, which would give it a majority stake. Before the house that Ferdinand built could complete its acquisition, the European Commission required it to make one last purchase, which took place in June of this year. Finally, the EU has granted its permission for the buyout.
This story is likely far from over, as the German State of Lower Saxony still claims a 20-percent stake in Volkswagen, which gives it certain rights to block decisions made by VW's new parents. Still, it seems that its only a matter of time before VW and Porsche are united under a different Ferdinand... Piech that is, grandson to Mr. Porsche himself.

[ Via: Reuters ]
[ Tag: eu, european commission, european union, EuropeanCommission, EuropeanUnion, lower saxony, LowerSaxony, porsche, porsche volkswagen, PorscheVolkswagen, volkswagen, volkswagen law, VolkswagenLaw ]

Volkswagen unveiling two-door Elise fighter in LA, new sports car

Over the past five years, Volkswagen has continued to tease us with sports car concepts that never seem to come to fruition. Back in 2003, VW unveiled the Concept R in Frankfurt to critical acclaim and two years later, the wraps came off the EcoRacer, proving that the automaker was still kicking around the idea of a lightweight, affordable roadster for the masses.
In the interim, VW had two similar concepts that never left the studio, but when the Los Angeles Auto Show rolls along later this year, a new mid-engine coupe will be revealed, and this one actually has a shot at production.
According to Autocar, this newest concept aims to be a budget alternative to the Lotus Elise, balancing performance and fuel economy in a low-cost package. Sources suggest that the coupe will feature either a 168 hp, 1.4-liter TSI gasoline engine or a 125 hp, 1.6-liter TDI mounted amidships and sending power to the rear wheels via a seven speed DSG gearbox. If and when the production version debuts in 2011, the coupe's curb weight is pegged at just over 2,200 pounds, allowing it to run to 60 in under seven seconds while still returning over 55 mpg.
If the project is given the green light, the same architecture that underpins the VW variant could form he basis for the oft-rumored and continually denied Audi R4. And with Porsche's stake in V-Dub, that means a 914 successor is just a badge and prayer away.

[ Via: Autocar ]
[ Tag: 914, audi, audi r4, AudiR4, breaking, concept r, ConceptR, ecoracer, la, la auto show, LaAutoShow, los angeles auto show, LosAngelesAutoShow, porsche, porsche 914, Porsche914, r4, volkswagen, volkswagen mid engine la, VolkswagenMidEngineLa ]

Porsche gobbles up more of VW while takeover is delayed

A procedural glitch, as opposed to Berlin-based intrigue, has postponed Porsche's plan to take over Volkswagen. The EU Commission requires a company to have a controlling interest in a company, or at least an agreement for such, before it will consider a company's application for regulatory approval. To straighten things out, Porsche has raised its stake in VW from 30.6 percent to 35.5 percent, which effectively grants it control of the much larger carmaker.
There's still that issue of the Volkswagen Law and Lower Saxony's refusal to give up the fight for its minority-majority stake. Lower Saxony, the state that is home to VW and 150,000 workers who don't want to lose their jobs, just bought another 500,000 shares in VW to maintain its position.
The EU Commission, however, has already said that Lower Saxony cannot use the VW Law to maintain control. That makes Porsche the fox outside the henhouse, waiting on the inevitable moment when EU officers will come and unlock the doors. Even better for the sports car maker, because Porsche hedged the purchase of its VW stake with cash-settled derivatives, it is assumed to have only spent a "a fraction" of the published price for controlling interest.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: eu, lower saxony, LowerSaxony, porsche, porsche buying vw, PorscheBuyingVw, volkswagen law, VolkswagenLaw, vw, vw law, VwLaw ]

European Union taking Germany to court over amended VW Law

In a move that may undermine Germany's protection of Lower Saxony and its close ties to Volkswagen, the European Commission plans to review the case of Volkswagen Law in the European Union's top court. As you may recall, Porsche has been trying to take majority control of rival Volkswagen. However, the so-called "Volkswagen Law" has protected VW from takeover by allowing the state of Lower Saxony (where thousands of VW jobs are at stake) to retain just enough stock in the company to prevent Porsche from capturing a majority vote. While the upcoming ruling may not only alter the ownership of Volkswagen, it also demonstrates the escalating authority that the European Commission has over once sovereign countries.

[ Via: Automotive News Europe ]
[ Tag: Control, European Commission, European Union, EuropeanCommission, EuropeanUnion, Lower Saxony, LowerSaxony, Majority, Porsche, Stock, Takeover, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Law, VolkswagenLaw ]

Porsche developing its own Golf-based entry model?

If Porsches are good, more Porsches are better, especially if it means Stuttgart's model range will expand downward. Rumors are swirling that Porsche is working on its own version of Volkswagen's Golf/Rabbit, which may be an opening salvo in a Porsche assault on BMW's slice of the pie with its 1 Series. An über-bunny above the R32 is certainly appealing, but we hope the styling smoothes some from from the melty rendering. There's potential there, but it could turn ugly fast like the Panamera four-door "coupe". Auto Bild is usually pretty close to the mark, however, so it wouldn't be surprising to see this very vehicle sometime around 2012. We're going to guess that most people will just see its taillights.


[ Via: Motive Mag ]
[ Tag: auto bild, AutoBild, porsche, porsche golf, porsche rabbit, porsche rendering, PorscheGolf, PorscheRabbit, PorscheRendering ]

VW CEO threatens to resign if Porsche interferes

It looks like Porsche's aggressive advances at Volkswagen are less than welcome by Volkswagen's management. Its CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has warned Porsche to keep its mitts out of operations, saying that he will resign his position if there's interference. Winterkorn isn't alone in his agitation, as Der Spigel reports Audi managers are concerned that Porsche will go a-meddling in Ingolstadt once its stake increases above 50 percent. Though VW, Audi, and Porsche are all cousins of a sort, Audi's product line comes uncomfortably close to Porsches in some cases, which doesn't portend well for the continuation of the status quo. Stay tuned as "Alle Meine Kinder," brought to you by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, continues.

[ Via: Forbes ]
[ Tag: majority stake, MajorityStake, porsche, volkswagen ceo, VolkswagenCeo, winterkorn, winterkorn resign, WinterkornResign ]

Cross-bred Caddy: Volkswagen Caddy Carrera Cup Edition 2.0TDI R

The link between Volkswagen and Porsche is about to get stronger, but VW's Swedish contingent has already created a special edition to honor the alliance. The VW Caddy has lived a staid life as a popular work truck in Europe, but the Swedes apparently think it could be so much more. So it's releasing 250 Carrera Cup Edition Caddies outfitted with black, 17-inch wheels wrapped in 225/45 R17 rubber, a new body kit, red-on-white paint scheme with Porsche's signature "Carrera" text, two-tone leather sport seats, a leather steering wheel and shifter. The 2.0-liter TDI mill is putting out 140 hp and 236 lb.-ft. of torque and with a fire extinguisher mounted on the diamond-plate floor boards, we think we might have found the perfect track-day accomplice to join that GT3 RS we've been building in our dreams.

[ Via: Carscoop ]
[ Tag: carrera cup, CarreraCup, porsche, sweden, volkswagen, Volkswagen Caddy Carrera Cup Edition 2.0TDI R, VolkswagenCaddyCarreraCupEdition2.0tdiR ]

Germany approves new Volkswagen Law

Porsche didn't win... this round. The German cabinet approved amendments to the Volkswagen Law yesterday, but lawmakers left Porsche's key clause untouched. For those of you who haven't been following this saga, "Volkswagen Law" is the legislation that includes a provision to allow the federal state of Lower Saxony to keep a blocking minority vote in Volkswagen. That minority position is just 20 percent, exactly the amount currently held by Lower Saxony. With Porsche gobbling up shares in VW, intent on capturing a majority position so they can control plant closures, and Lower Saxony determined to protect thousands of jobs in their state... rest assured we haven't heard the last of this.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: amendment, factory, jobs, Lower Saxony, LowerSaxony, Ownership, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Law, VolkswagenLaw ]

Babygate: Porsche CEO's hotel room bugged with baby monitor

It's far too early to come up with suitable jokes to make, so we'll just give you the facts. According to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Police are investigating a case of corporate eavesdropping in the form of a baby monitor that was found in the hotel room of Porsche CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking. Wiedeking was in Wolfsburg, Germany visiting Volkswagen headquarters for a board meeting when a security firm found the monitor behind a sofa in the CEO's room. An investigation is underway, however, it deserves noting that the alleged spying took place in November of last year and that Der Spiegel isn't citing any specific sources for their story.

[ Via: Forbes ]
[ Tag: baby monitor,BabyMonitor,ceo,porsche,spy,spying,volkwagen,vw,wedelin wiedeking,WedelinWiedeking ]

The Volkswagen Law returns

The Volkswagen Law is doing its best impression of Lazarus -- or perhaps a better analogy would be whack-a-mole. The European Court and minority VW shareholder Porsche keep trying to kill it, but it keeps popping up. Now the German government has agreed on an altered VW law -- but one that still gives the state of Lower Saxony, with it's 20.1-percent holding, blocking minority power.
The government runaround appears to hinge on the fact that the EU Court, in striking down the law, specifically cited the "20-percent cap on shareholder voting rights" as cause for striking down the VW Law. So the German government scrapped that, but retained the part where important decisions would need more than 80-percent of shareholders' approval. Which means Lower Saxony stays in control.
With VW keeping about 150,000 people in jobs, it's understandable that the state government is trying to stay in the saddle. A German Justice Ministry spokesman said "We believe our draft law is compatible with European law." An EU Court spokesman said, "The Commission expects that all three provisions and therefore the blocking minority as well will be abolished in order to implement the court's judgment." One of those two parties is eventually going to end up eating its words.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: lower saxony, lower saxony volkswa..., LowerSaxony, LowerSaxonyVolkswa..., porsche, volkswagen, vw, vw law, VwLaw ]