+++ AUDI ’s new development boss has hinted at an upcoming all-electric supercar. Peter Mertens, who previously was the head of research and development at Swedish marque Volvo, dropped a few clues as to what the German company’s plans are for its next generation of performance vehicles. “You can very well imagine that at some point we will have an electric supercar”, he said. “The question is, ‘Would I like to make it happen sooner?’ and the answer is, ‘Yes, of course.’ It is part of our plan. I can tell you that for a brand like Audi, a supercar is always interesting, and it’s a segment in which we have been playing, and we have been a very serious player”, he added. This won’t be the first time the company has produced an EV supercar, however. Audi has already made two-generations of the R8 e-tron, which was recently axed. In its most recent iteration, the R8 e-tron was powered by 2 electric motors mounted on the rear axle (Audi was unable to make it all-wheel drive like its wider performance line-up due to technical challenges) developing combined outputs of 462 hp and 920 Nm, enough to send the electric supercar from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds. A 92 kWh lithium/ion battery pack gave the R8 e-tron a projected driving range of around 450 kilometres on a single charge, while a fast charger could replenish the vehicle’s power bank within 2 hours. However, despite costing around 1 million euros, the R8 e-tron couldn’t match its all-wheel driven V10 petrol-powered siblings for all-out performance, with the ‘regular’ R8 V10 sprinting from 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and the hi-po R8 V10 Plus cutting that down to just 3.2 seconds. Other than the electric drivetrain, the R8 e-tron’s point of difference was the standard fitment of Audi’s latest autonomous driving technology, but this didn’t help the electric supercar from selling “fewer than 100” units during its short 2-year life cycle. In addition to is comments regarding an electric supercar, Mertens said Audi is looking into even faster 800-Volt charging systems, and the potential for S- and RS-branded versions of its e-tron range. “800-volt puts a significant extra cost on the bill. We need to evaluate whether customers will be prepared to pay that”, he said of 800V chargers. “In segments like super sports cars, it will be yes, no doubt about it. We believe in hybrid technology, specifically in regard to performance”, Mertens added with regards to electrified S and RS models. “Is plug-in technology a bridge? Yes, it is, but it’s also a fantastic technology for really delivering performance”. +++
+++ GENERAL MOTORS drops another factory shift to reduce Chevrolet Malibu output. Around 1,000 workers are expected to be affected as GM attempts to reduce inventories. General Motors has confirmed another shift elimination, laying off the late-night assembly crew at the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City. The US automotive market has begun to stagnate in recent months, raising concerns that the post-recession industry boom may have come to an end. Many cars did not share in the good times as buyers flocked to SUVs and crossovers. Dropping a shift at the Fairfax plant will help reduce output volume of the Chevrolet Malibu, which experienced a 29.9-percent drop in sales for the first 5 months of the year. “Lower demand for passenger cars across the industry has caused us to adjust production of some models”, the company said in a statement. To help keep inventories in check, GM has cut shifts at several other plants and extended planned shutdowns at others. +++
+++ It was one of the most oft-asked questions at the launch of the all-new Kona small SUV in South Korea last week: when will HYUNDAI build an N version? For the most part, the answer from the management group of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) was “we won’t”, with vice-chairman and head of research and development Woong-Chul Yang telling journalists that “the 1.6-litre turbo engine is enough for the present”. Yang also pointed out that the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine in the top-spec Kona (which is rated at 177 hp and 265 Nm under the bonnet of the Tucson) would be the most powerful car in its segment when it goes on sale next quarter. However, a glimmer of hope emerged from HMC executive vice-president and head of vehicle test and high-performance development Albert Biermann (the man behind Hyundai’s N program) who said that while there was no immediate plan to add the Kona to the growing roster of N cars, the popularity of SUVs could change that. “There’s nothing with N going on in the Kona”, he told journalists at a preview drive of the i30 N at Hyundai’s Namyang proving ground. “I would love to, but we have limited resources. Of course, the whole market is going to SUV, and it’s going C-segment (mid-size), B-segment (small) and A-segment (light) sooner or later. Yes, I think this is where we should be, also with high emotion cars, and from engineering point of view, yes, yeah, it’d would be tonnes of fun, but right now, we are busy”. Biermann reaffirmed that any future N cars would need to be modified across chassis, body, interior and powertrain in order to qualify for the badge. “For N car you’d need a more powerful engine than the normal range”, he said. “I think that is the core point of a Hyundai high-performance car. For an N car, we need more power than in the normal line-up cars. I mean, on this i30 N it’s not just the engine. We changed the whole front axle with a different philosophy, we changed the rear axle also, so we changed many things on this car”. +++
+++ MERCEDES is working on its next-generation compact car range, and included in this range will be the first-ever A-Class sedan. Mercedes previewed the car in April with the unveiling of the A Sedan concept at the 2017 Shanghai auto show. The concept sported a more traditional notchback design as opposed to the coupe-like shape of the CLA. Mercedes hasn’t mentioned whether we’ll see the A-Class sedan in the United States, but dealer sources claim the car was shown to local dealers at an event in Miami this month. “It’s a very nice-looking vehicle”, Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board and owner of four Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Texas, told. “I’m sure it will be competitively priced”. Another dealer said the A-Class sedan will become the three-pointed star’s entry-level model here, mentioning it will be positioned below the CLA. Potential rivals include the Audi A3 and Acura ILX. BMW has a 1-Series sedan on sale in China but isn’t interested in bringing the car to the U.S. just yet. The A-Class sedan is expected to go on sale in the fall of 2018, meaning we’ll likely see it arrive as a 2019 model. It will ride on the MFA2 front-wheel-drive platform Mercedes has developed for its next-generation compacts. The first of these new compacts will be an A-Class hatchback. It’s due on sale in Europe in the spring of 2018. Eventually, we’ll see replacements for the current B-Class, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and GLA. There will be at least 2 more models added, in addition to the A-Class sedan. One of these will a larger, more rugged SUV tipped to be called a GLB. Interestingly, the sources said they were also shown Mercedes-AMG’s upcoming super sedan. This model has already been spied in prototype form and is said to be coming as early as the summer of 2018. +++
+++ PORSCHE says that it will continue to make its iconic sports cars available with manual transmissions so long as there is even one customer that wishes it so, while the likes of the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS will remain naturally-aspirated for as long as possible. A spokesman said that the enthusiast will always seek a manual over the brand’s dual-clutch transmission (PDK) and Porsche will always offer it as a result. “The enthusiast wants the manual because to them it’s more engaging. The PDK will always be quicker because it doesn’t make mistakes, it always has the right gear at the right time, it will always do the best job that a transmission can do. Having said that, the manual is never going to go away, we are committed to keeping manual transmissions in our cars. The Porsche manual transmission in the 911 isn’t just a forgotten option to keep the doors open, it’s as engineered and suited to the vehicle as the PDK, with a 7-speed double plate clutch system that auto-blips on the downshift and offers a locking differential. Even so, the spokesman says that even though most customers start out by wanting a manual, they end up going with a PDK when it comes to handing over the final order. “The customer comes in, places the order, says they want the manual gearbox, but when it comes to signing, they say “I’ll take the PDK”. Why? Because they know that’s the faster car, the more fuel-efficient car and probably the better car for resale”. But despite more than 90 percent of Porsche 911s sold being equipped with a PDK system, the company will remain committed to the manual gearbox for the foreseeable future. “Absolutely, as long there is one customer that wants a manual, we will build it”. As for maintaining its commitment to naturally-aspirated engines, the spokesman said that some models in the 911 range simply have to be non-turbo. “There are some cars in our range that have the uniqueness in being naturally-aspirated, so if that uniqueness fails to exist by going to a turbo, you basically eliminate the variant. So for our company, it’s very important to keep and preserve the uniqueness of some of our models, so if the uniqueness is determined by the way the engine operates, we will keep it. As far as we can see, the uniqueness in the GT3 is based on having naturally aspirated engines”. This attitude towards naturally-aspirated engines is only shared with Lamborghini in the top-end segment, as Ferrari and even Aston Martin have succumbed to emission requirements. Porsche’s move to make its standard Carrera models turbocharged has allowed its group emission average to come down so that it can continue its GT vehicles without compromise. As for manual gearboxes? Ferrari and Lamborghini have long ago gone in favour of high-tech automatic transitions and even the likes of Mercedes-AMG has ditched the manual transmission. Porsche remains in rare company alongside Aston Martin, as the two last bastions of hope for manual sports car lovers the world over. +++
+++ TESLA CEO Elon Musk is in talks with India officials to build a local factory. The company is pushing for an exemption from import penalties until it establishes a factory in the country. Tesla is apparently involved in discussions to build a new factory in India. CEO Elon Musk in 2015 said a Gigafactory in India would “probably make sense in the long term” given the high local demand. He later lamented the country’s strict requirements for domestic parts content in vehicles sold locally, however. The executive said the company is involved in discussions with the government of India “requesting temporary relief on import penalties/restrictions until a local factory is built”. As the important Model 3 launch looms over the horizon, Tesla has warned that its Fremont factory could soon reach its capacity limit and upcoming models will need to be built at other assembly plants. The next vehicle on the list, the Model Y crossover, is expected to be even more popular than the Model 3. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN has teased the return of the iconic Microbus for years, but it seems the German automaker finally intends to make it a reality. Volkswagen chief Herbert Diess confirmed the most recent I.D. Buzz Concept for production. “Emotional cars are very important for the brand. We are selling loads of Beetles still, particularly in US markets” he told. “But we will also have the Microbus that we showed, which we have recently decided we will build”. As mentioned, we’ve seen several conceptual versions of a modern-day Microbus over the years, starting with the first Microbus Concept way back in 2001, then restarting with the Volkswagen Bulli in 2011. Since then, we’ve also had the Budd-e and, most recently, the I.D. Buzz. Volkswagen brass hinted at a proper reintroduction of the Microbus during the 2017 Geneva auto show. “We would like to bring this back, because it fits so well to what the brand stands for: it’s emotional, it has functionality, it makes your life easier”, VW’s design boss Oliver Stefani said. Interestingly, Stefani also hinted a reborn Microbus could spawn a family of different variants eventually, just as the Microbus did decades ago. “The T1 also had some family members, like the pick-up, the camper, the Samba”, Stefani said, “so I think there are a lot of possibilities with this car”. Volkswagen plans to usher in an electric offensive beginning in 2020 and each will likely wear the “I.D” badge used on their concepts. We’ve seen the I.D. Crozz, the I.D. Buzz, and the original I.D. electric hatchback concept from 2016. Volkswagen is said to be considering additional electric models to come as well, likely a sedan and sporty coupe. By then, the brand likely hopes its diesel deceit will be long forgotten. +++