28 • SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

AW GROUP FUTURE PRODUCTSVW GROUP

AUDIA8 redesign A6 redesign R8 electric debut A4/S4 freshen

R8 Spyder debuts A7 debuts A3 redesign Q3 debut

TT freshen A5 freshen Q7 redesign

BENTLEYContinental GT Flying Spur GTC redesigncoupe

BUGATTI16 C Galibier debut

LAMBORGHINIMurcielago Estoque debutredesign

PORSCHECayenne redesign Cayman Clubsport Cayman redesign Entry roadster

debut (or 2013) debut

Panamera hybrid 911 re-engineer Possible small SUVdebut debut

Cayenne S hybrid Possible Panameradebut convertible

Boxster redesign (or 2012)

VOLKSWAGENJetta redesign New Beetle restyle, Tiguan redesign E-Up! electric debut

re-engineerTouareg redesign Golf freshen

Mid-sized sedan Routan freshen debut GTI freshen

CC freshen

Eos freshen

2010 2011 2012 2013CALENDAR YEAR

Diana T. Kurylkodkurylko@crain.com

Volkswagen Group’s lofty ambitionto become the world’s biggest au-tomaker, overtaking Toyota, is basedon an aggressive push of new prod-ucts in a variety of segments.

New vehicles in the pipeline rangefrom the Volkswagen brand’s tinyelectric-powered Up! to the $2 mil-lion-plus Bugatti 16C Galibier. Bothare expected to arrive in the UnitedStates in 2013.

With both the VW and Audi brandsextending their lineups, the groupaims to increase U.S. sales to 1 mil-lion in 2018 from 297,537 last year.

VW is trying to establish itself as avolume brand in the United Stateswith a new assembly plant in Chat-tanooga, Tenn. Starting early nextyear, the factory will produce a newmid-sized sedan designed primarilyfor the United States. Later, an SUVand a small car may be built at theplant.

Audi starts an assault on the upper

end of the luxury market this yearwith a redesigned A8 sedan. Nextyear it launches the A7 sedan, fol-lowed by the redesigned A6.

The A7 is part of Audi’s strategy tomake premium sedans, including theA6 and A8, account for 30 percent ofits U.S. sales within six or seven years,up from 15 percent today.

Meanwhile, Porsche, now con-trolled by VW, will share more plat-forms and components with the

parent company. One of the first ex-amples of cooperation with VW is asmall entry-level sports car devel-oped jointly by Porsche and VW —and possibly Audi. The midengineroadster is expected to debut as ear-ly as 2013.

Porsche also is likely to get an SUVbased on the Audi Q3 crossover.Porsche and VW already share a plat-form for their larger Porsche Cay-enne and VW Touareg SUVs. c

Product diversity drivesVW’s growth target

GlossaryWhat do the terms mean?

� Freshened: Sheet metal untouched. Vehicle may get new grille, fascia,headlight and taillight modules.

� Reskinned: Minor changes to sheet metal, such as hood, front and rear fenders.

� Restyled: Extensive changes to exterior and interior.

� Re-engineered: Platform and major components reworked to improve fueleconomy, ride, handling, brakes, steering, safety or other items. The changes may include a new engine.

� Redesigned: New platform, interior and exterior, but engine andtransmission could be carried over.

Bentley’s sales have plummeted asits cars aged and the economy fell in-to recession.

The launch of the Mulsanne flag-ship this year is cause for optimism,as is the coming reskin of the Conti-nental range, which was introducedin the United States in 2005.

Bentley will begin rolling out thenew versions of the Continental nextyear, starting with the GT coupe.

Continental: The reskinned GTcoupe debuts at the Paris auto showthis month and goes on sale early in2011.

The GT’s 6.0-liter W-12 twin-tur-bocharged engine is reworked, withhorsepower increased to 567 from552. It is teamed with an updated six-speed automatic transmission andall-wheel-drive system. A new op-tional 4.0-liter V-8 will be available inlate 2011 on a new entry-level GT

with a lower price. The new GT is 143 pounds lighter

than its predecessor, but exterior di-mensions are the same.

The Flying Spur sedan will be re-designed in mid-2012, the GTC con-vertible in late 2013 and the Speedhigh-performance models in 2014 or2015. A hybrid has been reported butnot confirmed.

Mulsanne: The large sedan, whichreplaced the Arnage this year, is pow-ered by a new twin-turbo, 6.75-literV-8 with 505 hp and an eight-speedautomatic transmission.

A convertible version to replace theAzure is expected, as is a high-perfor-mance Brooklands model.

Bentley expects to sell about 700Mulsannes worldwide a year, at$285,000 a copy. The car is sold out inthe United States until 2012.

— Diana T. Kurylko

Bentley reskins Continentals

Diana T. Kurylkodkurylko@crain.com

Audi is planning to jump into sever-al new segments.

Next year it will add the coupe-styled A7 sedan to compete with theMercedes-Benz CLS and PorschePanamera sedans. The all-new Q3small crossover goes into productionnext year in Europe but won’t get tothe United States until 2013.

Audi is also considering a smallelectric car based on the next-gener-ation A2.

A2: Audi may revive the A2 name,which was retired in 2005, for a newgeneration of small vehicles. If ap-proved, only an electric versionwould be sold in the United States,said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi AGboard member for sales and market-ing.

A3: A redesign is planned for 2012.A4/S4: The sedan and its higher-

performance S stablemate will befreshened in 2013. Audi is consideringa diesel version, possibly using the V-6

that powers the Q7 crossover. A5: The coupe and its high-perfor-

mance RS5 version probably will geta freshening in 2012.

A6: The redesigned sedan goes onsale in 2011, using the underpinningsof the new A7.

A7: The new sedan, which hascoupelike styling, goes on sale in2011, positioned below the A8. TheA7, which is slightly shorter and nar-rower than the A8, will be equippedwith all-wheel drive and will be avail-able with a V-6 or V-8. A four-doorhardtop convertible has been dis-cussed but has not been approved.

A8: The redesigned long- andshort-wheelbase sedans go on sale inNovember. Audi waited to launchthe new A8 in the United States untilthe longer version went into produc-tion because the longer version ac-counts for 80 percent of A8 sales inthe United States.

TT: The two-seat coupe and con-vertible get a freshening next yearand a redesign in 2014. An RS perfor-

mance version of the coupe will go onsale in the United States in the thirdquarter of 2011. It will not be avail-able as a convertible. The RS will bepowered by a 2.5-liter turbochargedfive-cylinder engine with 360 hp.

R8: The convertible Spyder deriva-tive goes on sale this year. An electric-powered version under the e-tronsubbrand will arrive in 2012. Audi willproduce only 1,000 of the R8 electricsupercar, which is 6.7 inches shorterthan the R8.

The e-tron version, which has fourelectric motors, will be more expensivethan the gasoline R8 models. The mostexpensive R8, with a 5.2-liter V-10 en-gine, is priced at $157,850.

Q3: The new small crossover goesinto production next year but won’treach the United States until 2013.Spy photos suggest it is based on theVolkswagen Tiguan.

Q5: The mid-sized crossover gets ahybrid version in 2011.

Q7: The large crossover will be re-designed in 2013.c

From electrics to sedans, Audiprepares to enter new niches

The A7, which is slightly shorter and narrower than the A8, has all-wheel drive and will be available with a V-6 or V-8.

The reskinned Continental GT coupe goes on sale early in 2011.

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