LMP1 class to ban V10/V12 engines

In order to slow speeds the ACO has made it official that engines with no more than 4 litres and 8 cylinders can enter the LMP1 class by 2011 and LMP2 class will use production engines, which means either a move to LMP1 or using modified production engines which Porsche has already been developing a Directinjection V8 which saw its way in cars running in ALMS last yr.

This means Audi will have to go back to design a V8 Diesel no bigger than 4.0 litres. These rules will go into effect in 2011 and Hybrids such as Peugeots will be able to run this years LeMans but a class will be created next year for Hybrids and Electric LMP's.
If Audi decides to run LMP1 past 2011 this means Audi quite possibly will have a high performance V8 Diesel to put in a few selected Audis such as the RS4 and R8.

EU to take legal action vs Germany on VW law

The European Commission said on Thursday it would take legal action against Germany by the end of the year over a law governing carmaker Volkswagen that it says violates EU rules on the free flow of capital.

The European Union's highest court last year struck down a 48-year old German law that shields Volkswagen from takeover, forcing Berlin to come up with alternative legislation.

On Thursday, Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament approved a revised law which addresses some of the EU's concerns but not all of them.

For example, the new legislation keeps a rule that gives the state of Lower Saxony, which holds just over 20 percent of Volkswagen shares, an effective blocking minority in the firm. The EU has said explicitly that Germany must scrap the rule. The highly profitable Porsche holding company says it currently controls 42.6 per cent of voting shares at the bigger Volkswagen. The new legislation, an amendment of the long-standing "Volkswagen Law," gives Lower Saxony veto rights at shareholder meetings. Porsche will own just under 75 per cent of the giant car manufacturer when options fall due next year.

"We will move ahead with the case in the next few weeks. The Commission certainly hopes to reach a decision on the next stage before Christmas," a Commission spokesman said.

The law allows Lower Saxony, the region where Volkswagen is based, to block strategic decisions taken by the company's largest shareholder, Stuttgart-based sports carmaker Porsche.

Porsche has lobbied vigorously for the law to be overturned but encountered robust opposition from the German government and Volkswagen workers. Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking wrote to legislators, predicting that law would cause future problems for Berlin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech in September at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg that she believed the new legislation met EU demands and vowed to defend the blocking minority clause in Brussels.

A solid majority of legislators in Berlin backed the bill, which is popular because the state is seen as a guarantor of jobs at the company, the biggest industrial enterprise in Lower Saxony.

Thousands of VW workers have demonstrated in support of the law, which is also backed by Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff, an influential member of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU). But the labour leader at Volkswagen, Bernd Osterloh, applauded the law as a "grand signal" and said it fully met provisions of European Union law.

The European Union is expected to challenge the legislation in court, arguing that it distorts European corporate law.

-Source:Reuters

AUDI AG: Sales growth in October

Click Here for Post from The Financial

Audi China Business To Be Headquartered In Beijing

A German newspaper reported that the would-be plant construction is an important measure for Audi to expand business in the Chinese market. Audi China to be established will explore new business independently, including sourcing in China and building a test centre particularly for the Chinese market.

Audi president Rupert Stadler indicated that new Audi China division will be closer to the Chinese market and help with local production of Audi A3, which will share the platform with the upcoming sixth-generation VW Golf.

Last May, Rupert Stadler announced the code-named "Route 15" plan, which aimed to sell 1.5 million Audis by 2015, over BMW and Mercedes-Benz to be the number one luxury brand. Audi China sales will target 200,000 units by then, almost double than 100,888 in 2007.

By 2015, the Audi models will be added up to 40, most of which will also be introduced to China as it is the largest overseas market for Audi. "To meet 200,000 sales by 2015 is achievable," said Johannes Thammer, general manager of FAW-VW Audi sales division.

Also optimistic about the Chinese market is Voggenreiter, who said Audi sales forecast in China hasn't decreased though faced with financial crisis.

-Source: The Auto Channel

Audi R4 Unleashed

Once again Porsche & Audi have collabed again producing the baby R8, the Audi R4. The chassis will be in the R4 and the upcoming Porsche Boxster/Cayman vehicles also. Weight reduction with aluminum body paneling and Audis newer 40/60 torque split should make this a thrill to drive considering the engine options. Even though Audi has stated it will do away with manual gearboxes this should be availble with Audi's 6 Speed gearbox and a 7 speed DSG option.

Possible Engines:

• 335bhp 2.5 litre TFSI 5 cylinder
  
• 200bhp 2.0 litre TFSI 4 cylinder
  
• 300bhp 3.6 litre FSI V6
• 225bhp 2.0 litre TDI common rail injection 4 cylinder
  

Audi R8 V10

Looks like Audi is letting the R8 compete with Lamborghini, the new R10 as I like to call it, 5.2 litre V10 552bhp. Rumour abroad only 50! headed for US since Audi is producing 50 a month of the base R8's. I haven't been able to confirm the quantity headed to our shores.

New Audi A8 artist renderings

Audi gives go ahead for A3 Diesel plans

What is unknown is if they will bring the A3 3 door hatch version and offer a Quattro 6speed gearbox which I personally think would sell way better than the 4door. But there is a solid yes for the A3 Sportback FWD 6Speed DSG dogbox. Expect to see it on our shores within the next year.

Frank Biela Interview

The B5 A4 to me is still the best platform Audi everhad and still continues this day as a streetfighter across America and Europe. I myself have owned a B5 and B6 and loved them, and I still love how easy it is to modify them with the plethora of parts available from tuners everywhere. I ran across this on my way out Enjoy.

Audi Among German Companies Hit by Labor Strikes

Audi the luxury-car brand of Volkswagen was among German companies affected by strikes after the IG Metall labor union failed to reach agreement with employers over pay.

About 5,000 staff at Audi's Ingolstadt and Neckersulm plants stopped working for as much as two hours, the union said in separate e-mailed statements today. About 8,000 manufacturing workers downed tools across Germany today, the union added on its website.

IG Metall, representing 3.2 million employees, is pressing for an 8 percent pay rise next year. The union last week rejected a counteroffer from the Gesamtmetall employers' association for a one-time payment this year and a 2.1 percent increase in 2009.

Strikes will continue on Nov. 3 at E.G.O. Blanc und Fischer & Co. GmbH, which makes parts for appliances, Zehnder Group AG, General Electric Co.'s health-care unit, MSC Freiburg GmbH, Ferromatik Milacron Maschinenbau GmbH and Sick AG, IG Metall said. At least 18 production sites will be affected, it said.

The engineering sector employers' group, Gesamtmetall, offered workers a 2.9 percent wage offer over 14 months on Thursday, which IG Metall has rejected.

"This bad offer is an insult," IG Metall's deputy chairman, Detlef Wetzel, said in a statement. "On this basis, a quick solution is not possible."

The rise sought by IG Metall, which is seeking a deal for the 3.6 million workers in the engineering sector, is the biggest wage hike it has sought in 16 years.

The union is due to resume wage negotiations with Gesamtmetall on Nov. 11 in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where agreements often serve as pilot deals for the engineering sector nationwide.

Negotiators will resume talks in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Nov. 13, which has previously also produced pilot deals. If no deal is reach at the next round of talks, IG Metall has vowed to stage full-blown strikes to press its case.

-Source:Bloomberg