VW Group to Invest €51.6 Billion in its Automotive Division Over the Next Five Years

€51.6 billion, or about US$71 billion at today's exchange rates, is a lot of money - equal to around 15% of Sweden's GDP, for example. Nevertheless, that's the amount of money that will be poured into the Volkswagen Group's automotive division for production capacity and vehicle development in the next five years. The goal, according to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, is "to make Volkswagen the world's most future-proof automotive group".

The new budget will see €41.3 billion invested in property, factories and equipment with more than half of this amount (57%) finding its way into Germany. The remaining €10.3 billion consists of additions to capitalized development costs.

VW said that it will spend most of the budget (€27.7 billion) on modernizing and extending the product range of all its brands with the main focus being on new vehicles, successor models and derivatives in almost all vehicle classes based on modular technology.

"This will allow the Volkswagen Group to systematically continue its model rollout with a view to tapping new markets and segments," the company said in a statement.

In terms of powertrain production, the Group plans to launch a new generation of engines "with enhanced performance, fuel consumption and emission levels," and continue the development of hybrid and electric motors.

Furthermore, €13.6 billion will be used for cross-product investments. Volkswagen will thoroughly modernize or open new press shops, paintshops and assembly facilities including its new North American plant, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2011.

"The Volkswagen Group will help shape the technological turning point in key areas of the automotive industry and, to do this, will continue investing in environmentally friendly technologies, efficient drives and new models. We are systematically pursuing the goals of our Strategy 2018 to further increase our profitability and to make Volkswagen the world's most future-proof automotive group. The investment program we have now resolved will play a significant role in this", said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn.

In addition, VW said that its Chinese joint ventures will see a total investment of €10.6 billion in the period 2011 to 2015. However, this investment will be fully funded from the cash flow generated by the Chinese joint ventures themselves and is not included in the €51.6 billion budget.

By Csaba Daradics

LA Show 2010: Porsche's Lighter and More Hardcore Cayman R [Photos + Video]

Porsche has chosen the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show to unveil its finest version yet of the Cayman sports coupe. The new Cayman R is a stripped-out, lighter and more powerful variant of the mid-engined 'S' model. Porsche says that in its special alphabet, the letter 'R' is for "responsive and refined – but most especially for racy."

Stuttgart's team of engineers started off by eliminating any unnecessary items for purists such as the air conditioning, audio system and complex door handles -owners will have to do with simple door pulls on this German baby. Porsche says more savings were achieved through the use of lightweight components including the carbon fiber bucket seats and the lightest 19 inch wheels offered by the company weighing in at less than 40kg / 80 lbs.

Furthermore, the Cayman R gets a smaller fuel tank. As for the 911 GT3/GT3 RS and Boxster Spyder, an optional lithium-ion lightweight construction battery is also available. All said, Porsche's engineers managed to shave off 55 kg (121 lbs) over the Cayman S bringing down the total weight to just 1,295 kg (2855 lb).

Next on the list was a fine tuning of the Cayman S' 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine, which produced an additional 10HP lifting output to 330-horsepower with the torque figure remaining unchanged at 272lb ft.

In standard configuration, power is transfered to the rear wheels through a through a six-speed manual gearbox that propels the car from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.0 seconds. With the optional seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK), the sprint time is reduced to 4.9 seconds. But wait, that's not all. Porsche also offers the optional Sport Chrono package, which takes it to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.7 seconds.

The new mid-engine coupé is capable of reaching a top speed of 282 km/h (175 mph) with manual gearbox, and 280 km/h (174 mph) with the PDK. The company says it consumes 9.7 l/100 km (29.12 mpg imp.) with six-speed gearbox and 9.3 l/100 km (30.37 mpg imp.) with PDK on average.

The chassis set-up for the Cayman R includes a sports suspension that lowers the car's ride height by 20mm (0.79 in.) compared to the 'S' and a limited slip differential. Buyers can also opt for a set of ceramic brakes.

On the visual side, the Cayman R comes with an aero kit that includes a distinctive rear wing and a front lip spoiler, black-framed headlights plus special graphics on the side and mirrors in contrasting black or silver, depending on the body colour.

The new Porsche Cayman R will arrive in dealerships in February 2011 with prices in Germany set at €69,830 [US$95,050] inclusive of 19 percent VAT and country-specific equipment items, and in the U.S.A., at $66,300 [€48,700 at today's exchange rates].

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Porsche's LA Show Debut will be the Cayman R Lightweight Special

We just learned that the new mid-engined sports model that Porsche announced for the LA Auto Show will be the Cayman R. Think of it as a more hardcore version of the Cayman S (pictured above) that has shed a few pounds here and there, and comes equipped with a mildly tuned version of the flat-six engine. According to our sources, the Cayman R also benefits from upgraded suspension and brake components as well as the necessary aero kit, bespoke lightweight alloy wheels and interior modifications. We'll bring you the full story and pictures on the Cayman R from the LA Show that kicks off tomorrow.

*All Pictures are of the Cayman S

Super Green: The New Wave Of Environmentally Conscious Exotic Supercars

It's not that easy being green, least of all if you're a builder of exotic, high performance supercars or uberluxury sedans. Recently however, there has been a move towards improving fuel economy and reducing emissions by many of the world's biggest and most well known luxury and performance brands.

Take Ferrari's stop-start equipped California HELE or Mercedes-Benz's SLS AMG E-Cell concept, for instance. And there's more on the horizon, including the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder from Porsche and BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics, the latter of which allegedly will offer M3 performance with a CO2 emissions rating of just 99 grams per kilometer.

And it's not just these four who are in it for the environmental crowd cred: other makers including Lotus, Audi, Lamborghini, Jaguar and Bentley are also looking to green up their model ranges.

This comes as no surprise to Christoph Stuermer, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Frankfurt:

"These upper-end, high-performance cars have always been examples of the best car technology out here, and being green is now part of being technologically advanced They have to come up with something so as not to be seen as technical dinosaurs."

Enrico Galliera, the commercial and marketing senior VP at Ferrari, agrees that it's definitely something that the company's customers are all for:

"When you consider buying a Ferrari, you're considering it for the performance. At the same time, when we approached customers and said, 'Here's a way you can still have that and be greener,' the reaction was extremely positive."

So there you have it. Now you can have your cake and eat it too, though you'll have to pay for the cake part first. And with prices around €180,000 (US$252,376) for the California HELE and an expected €500,000 (US$682,260) for the 918 Spyder that is one expensive, green frosted cake.

PS: Metaphors aren't my strong point...

By Tristan Hankins

Via: WSJ

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