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 ]
New Indy engine could be delayed, three manufacturers in the mix
Fiat marketing chief & Alfa Romeo CEO Luca de Meo defects to Volkswagen
Luca de Meo was charting a course to rise to the top of the Fiat group, but if reports emanating from Europe are accurate, he's changed directions as the promising young auto executive has reportedly left Fiat to become the new head of marketing for the Volkswagen group.
De Meo took his biggest step up the Fiat ladder when group CEO Sergio Marchionne handed over the reins of the Fiat auto division to him. De Meo then took on the additional task of re-launching the Abarth performance sub-brand before switching from the Fiat division to assume the leadership of Alfa Romeo as well as marketing for the entire group, including its automotive, agricultural and commercial divisions. Poaching Marchionne's protege is undoubtedly a huge coup for Volkswagen, whose leaders are evidently banking on De Meo's talent for marketing small, cheap cars – having masterminded the 500's success and most recently formulated the plan for Fiat's new budget-oriented division – to imbue the up! project with success while giving the entire Volkswagen automotive empire and the 100 new projects on which it is reportedly working a youthful Latin flair.
De Meo joins a roster of Italians who've recently come to VW, Europe's largest automaker, and another list of talented young executives who've left Fiat, Europe's third largest (after PSA Peugeot-Citroen). Alfa's longtime marketing director and Fiat group veteran Sergio Cravero is tipped to take over as CEO of Alfa Romeo, Maserati CEO and group chief technical officer Harald J. Wester will assume responsibility for Abarth while the group's marketing role will be split into several different jobs. No word yet on what effect this will have on Volkswagen's current sales and marketing director Detlef Wittig, however.
[ Via: Automotive News Europe ]
[ Tag: alfa romeo, AlfaRomeo, de meo, DeMeo, fiat, fiat group, fiat marketing, FiatGroup, FiatMarketing, luca de meo, luca de meo alfa, luca de meo alfa romeo, luca de meo fiat, luca de meo volkswagen, luca de meo vw, luca meo, LucaDeMeo, LucaDeMeoAlfa, LucaDeMeoAlfaRomeo, LucaDeMeoFiat, LucaDeMeoVolkswagen, LucaDeMeoVw, LucaMeo ]
Fiat may enter the microcar ring with a four-seater sub-Panda
This time next week, those of us fortunate enough to go to Frankfurt will likely be passed out after a long day of press conferences, caffeine crashes and schnitzel binges. Two of the more compelling concepts we expect to see in Germany include the Volkswagen City Expert and Toyota's Endo microcar, both of which will likely see production in an effort to provide diminutive, low-cost transport across the globe. Fiat apparently wants in on the action too.
According to Automotive News, Fiat may be developing its own sub-compact runabout, based off the Panda and 500 platform, only with 300mm lopped off. Able to seat four, the concept will be powered by a 65 HP, 900cc two-cylinder engine, but it won't make its debut until sometime next year.
The article also sheds light on both the VW and Toyota vehicles, with the former coming in at about 3,400 mm and the latter stretching a full 3,150 mm. Skoda and Seat, affiliates of Volkswagen, are likely to get their own versions later, both powered by either a two- or three-cylinder engine that lies flat underneath the rear seats. Expect to see variants of the City Expert in both Tokyo and Los Angeles later this year.Whether or not either of automaker can make a profit on these vehicles is a question that has sparked debate among analysts, but regardless, expect Toyota's Endo to make it to production in 2009 and VW's City Expert around the same time.
[ Via: SEAT Autoblog ]
[ Tag: 500, city expert, CityExpert, endo, fiat, panda, seat, skoda, toyota, volkswagen, vw ]