We would like to inform that this new edition is a premium category car and would not be affordable like the Toyota iQ. It would compete against the luxury brand Mini Cooper. Insiders have revealed that to match the high performance Cooper S model Audi plans to launch the sport S1 variant.

The S1 edition will be powered by a turbocharged 1.4 liter TFSI engine and will produce 200 horsepower and 221 pound feet of torque. It will be teamed with Quattro AWD and a 7 speed S-tronic dual clutch gearbox. It is expected that this new edition would gallop from zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds at a top speed of 155mph.

The Audi A1 will also feature stiffened suspension with magnetic dampers, programmable gear box with sport or comfort drive option and 40-60 front to rear torque split.

The exterior silhouette will feature 19 inch alloy wheels, flared wheel arches, chrome highlights including side mirror, and a roof mounted spoiler.

The interiors would feature flat bottomed steering wheel, sporty bucket seat along with aluminum pedals.

It is expected that the S1 edition would be released several months after the standard A1 hatch back has hit the roads.

So if you are waiting for the sports variant … you have a long wait whereas the standard edition is few months down the lane.

The 159 Sedan

The four door 150 Sedan will be the first Alfa Romeo car to make its presence in the US. Its unique Italian Silhouette with a perfect blend of superior quality would offer a tough competition to the present American and European models.

The 159 will be equipped with 3.2 liter direct injection V6 engine which would produce 260 horsepower.  It would be equipped with standard all wheel drive to compete with other Luxury auto makers in the US. The most exciting part about the 159 sedan is that it is a true luxury car with a base price of $34,000. This would make other luxury car makers like BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi on their toes.

The Brera Coupe

The Brera has already made its name in the European segment. It is a top notch sport hatch back car with a sleek, yet classy styling, and 2 by 2 seating layout. The Brera is a well known crowd pleasing car. Like other Alfa models the Brera features its iconic triangular front grille and unmistakable headlamps which add to the front look of this Italian beauty.

This sport-hatch will be equipped with a similar powertrain like the 159 sedan. It will feature a 3.2 liter direct injection V6 engine which would generate 260hp. It will also feature all wheel drive system. The beauty of all Alfa Romeo editions including Brera is that they are equipped with stiff but efficient suspensions which offer a comfortable ride. This luxury car would reach the US shore by 2010 and will be available at a base price of $36,000.

The Spider

The Spider convertible is the most stylish and desired car amongst other Alfa Romeo models. The Alfa Romeo Spider will offer two powertrain options.

It will be equipped with fuel efficient  2.2 liter four cylinder engine in the  base edition  and would offer option of 3.2 liter  V6  edition from 159 Sedan edition. This two door version is expected to be smaller and lighter than the 159 Sedan and the Spider.  The light weight body would offer better acceleration and handling.

The new Audi A1 will cater to the likes of upmarket compact cars viz. the Mini Cooper. The new Audi edition will be available in various different variants just like Mini.

Audi has plans to launch the A1 in the regular three door and five door hatchback models in the initial phase. They would later move towards designing a classy convertible and a compact MPV.

The latest images that were captured reveal the shape of the grille and LED detailing in the headlights. It is expected that this edition would be equipped with a range of 1.2 liter to 1.6 liter in displacement and would generate an approximate output of 200 horsepower. There are rumors that Audi will unveil a hybrid edition also at the earliest.

Audi CEO, Rupert Stadler has confirmed on many occasions that the company plans to augment its brands line up to 40 models by 2015 and also enhance its production facilities. To make their plans into a reality, Audi has already invested € 200 million in its Brussels plant to start production of the new A1 range. With all the new technology that has been used it will now be able to produce an approximate 120,000 units annually.

To increase its sales and make them self known in the premium car segment, they have decided to launch A1 in America also.  With its launch in America it would offer tough competition to Mercedes Benz and BMW.

The latest spy shots that were released revealed the body style design for the A8 which would include the LED daytime running lights. Audi chief designer Stefan Sielaff has declared that the next gen theme would be elegance, with softer flowing lines while the third gen would be stronger, sharper and more precise.

There are reports that Audi may introduce a four cylinder version overseas. The nest gen Audi will be crafted with aluminum body to keep a check on the weight. Audi engineers estimate that approximately 330 pounds of weight will be saved when compared to steel body. It is expected that the cars final curb weight would range from 3,630 pounds and 4.180 pounds depending on the model specification. It is expected that the standard model which will be launched in Europe will remain front wheel drive but all-wheel drive variants will feature the latest quattro torque vectoring Sport Differential which will offer improved traction and stability. The company proposes to equip power steering, air suspensions, pedal response and transmission system.

The four cylinder engine would generate approximately 230 pounds Audi will also provide engine options such as 3.0 liter V6 TDI which would produce 250 hp alternatively a 3.0 liter V-6 FSI which would produce 290 hp or a 340 hp 4.2 liter V8 TDI or 372 horsepower 4.2-liter V-8 FSI and finally the S8 would be equipped with 5.0 liter V10 FSI which would generate 620 horsepower.

Audi engineers have studied thoroughly before incorporating aluminum and carbon fiber constructions instead of steel. This combination would assist in lowering the overall weight of the vehicle. The lower weight of the vehicle would result in better fuel efficiency, emission reduction and handling agility.

There are many new vehicles which are seen on the streets which are over weight due to the introduction of additional safety features and higher feature specs.

Audi has tried to move away from this concept and redesigned the A5 with aluminum Audi Space Frame (ASF). By using this concept the body weight is reduced b approximately 40 % compared to the conventional steel body. It has been studied that the steel body would weigh 3,130 pounds while the prototypes with the ASF weighed 2,888 pounds.

The light weight body would offer enhanced performance. The prototypes which were powered by a four cylinder engine offered similar performance like the V6 engine.

The reduced weight helps in increasing the dynamics and the handling capacity.

Cadillac is targeting the European section which has a large potential for stylish wagons. To tab this segment the company just needs to build its brand loyalty and encourage its customers to buy their vehicles.

There are reports which mention that these models have not gained much popularity in America. This is one possible reason why renowned companies like BMW and Audi have moved away from the high performance wagon market in the US. There are reports which confirm that the wagon has very poor sales and demand which barely breaks double digit sales each year. Chrysler 300C and Dodges Magnum and SRT-8 have not gained much popularity in the US irrespective of the strong powertrain.

If Cadillac wishes to gain their customer strength it is expected that they would price their wagon at an approximate price of $60,000- $65,000 which is the price of the sedan version. In such an instance they will be able to undercut the Mercedes E63AMG Estate wagon by over 20,000 and which would help them gain more customers.

This news which was revealed via Twitter feed of South African Audi dealer, Audi Cape town is however not confirmed by the officials at Audi. The German Car Blog has added another layer to the story.

From the reports of the spy shots, it is clear that the RS3 version would not have any major exterior changes. It would however upgrade its handling and aerodynamics of the hatch and will be equipped with the same engine found in the TT RS.

Spy shots reveals that the fog light area has been blacked out on the RS3 test mule which means that there would be some changes that would be done in the RS3 version.

It is equipped with engine similar to TT RS and hence its performance would also be similar. It is expected that RS3 version would generate 340 horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque and would sprint from zero to 60 mph in about five seconds.

It is expected that it would compete with Subaru WRX STI, Mitsubishi Evolution X and Mazda speed 3.

There is not much that can be revealed about the RS3 as the company is tight lipped about their new venture.

It is difficult to gauge which brand would benefit from the Porsche engineered sedan platform. The name is not yet out, but Lamborghini is ruled out which leaves with options of Audi or Bentley as the most likely recipients.  Luxury cars like Buggati and more brands like VW are somewhat left behind.

The next generation car would include features such as gasoline V6 engine derived from the company’s V8 in 2010 and a hybrid version in 2011. Insiders report that it is unlikely that the company would come out with a diesel version as high performance V8 and V10 diesels offered by German competitors have received a very sluggish response.

Whatever the end product that might be formed by the Volkswagen Porsche union, it is definite to be an elaborate one.

Audi had unveiled the 2010 S4 at the Paris 2008 motor-show and kept everyone guessing as too what the heck were they thinking when they swapped the V8 engine for a 3.0 liter V6?. But this isn’t any ordinary V6,….. this one is supercharged and torque figures have improved  too and are available across a wider rev range — the boosted 6-cylinder offers up 324 lb.-ft. of torque from 2900 to 5300 rpm against 302 lb.-ft. at 3500 rpm.  You don’t think that Audi will let you down on the engine front did you?. The power churned out by the V6 is 7bhp less than the previous S4 which was a decent 340bhp,which is slightly disappointing news for the S4 fans who expected more POWEER!!. It seems, along with the economy, the horse-power of our most favored mode of transport seem to be slipping too.

We’ll come back to the engine stats in a bit and let’s talk about the design of the all new S4. Well, it seems that Audi hasn’t done much with the design of the s4 besides the R8 styled LED head and rear lights and an all-new modular platform that features a longer wheelbase that reduces front overhang which gives the car a leaner and meaner look. The rest is pretty much the same. Audi has kept the interiors simple and typical Audi and equipped with the everyday-use gadgetry, but it all seems rather dull.

Under the hood we have our 3.0liter supercharged V6 ,all-new direct injected TFSI engine, with four valves per cylinder and a two-stage inlet manifold  that can pump out 333bhp. The reasons for this swap in engine are simple, improved fuel economy, better low-end torque and lighter weight compared to the 4.2-liter V-8 claiming an average mpg of 24.3.

The S4 also features a permanent all-wheel-drive with the option of a 6-speed manual or a seven speed S-tronic automatic transmission. The torque is split 40/60 front/rear under normal conditions. A new Quattro Sport rear differential that varies torque between the rear wheels will be optional. The S4 will also feature Audi Drive Select, which allows the driver adjustment of the engine and throttle mapping, suspension damping and the steering. It is one of those features that bring out the meddling driver in you to test the car in different conditions ‘to achieve optimum performance’. Also featuring are: an upgraded brake system, special 18-in. wheels and front sport seats are also standard fare. The S4 also keeps the driver captivated by the third-generation MMI and its absolutely gorgeous NVIDIA graphics. The hard-drive-based system featured traffic data map overlays, 3D building data, text-to-speech turn by turn directions and voice control.

Testing the S4:

It was a bright and sunny day and  I couldn’t care less. I was handed over the keys to a fully loaded, brand-new Audi S4 sedan. I said to myself , ‘do not push the car to its limit right away , lets pace it up, lets see what the S4 is all about in a dignified manner’ but then I could also feel the car grumbling, ‘what the hell are you waiting for?….go ahead… pedal to the mettle”. So within a matter of seconds the heavy foot came out. Audi claims the S4 can do a 0-60mph in 5.1 secs flat and I clocked in at 5.16secs which is almost the same as theirs (hey…this isn’t Formula 1 and I’m no F1 driver).

The S4 tackled the corners with ease, although there was some amount of under-steer and the suspension had a slight bounce .The Audi’s Drive Select system, gave me limited control over the suspension tuning, power delivery, and steering ratios, effectively making the S4 two cars in one: a comfortable boulevard cruiser and a mountain-shredder.

The electronic steering was very responsive and accurate, much like a point and shoot game. In addition, the Quattro system splits the  torque 40 percent forward and 60 percent to the rear wheels in normal (dry) conditions and features an option called the “sport differential.” It can transfer power laterally between the left and right rear wheels; on the wet track, even with the stability control on, you can have some real fun by pushing your right foot down to swing the tail out a bit.

The S4 feels peppy, but just not outright powerful like the last-generation S4but that can be forgiven when you hear the brilliant sound-train it has . The new S4 packs some serious muscle, but it is not the same as its predecessor. It has some similarity in design and inside the cabin, but that’s all. Everything else is new ground for the S4.

Before we set about fiddling with the car, Audi said that the S4 was aiming specifically for the BMW 335i and the Mercedes C350. I think, the 335i would make a great car for the tracks, the C350 is impressive on the road as well as on the track and gives the S4 one heck of scare but, the S4 is the car that you would want to drive back home in.

The Audi S4 will go on sale in the spring of 2009, with the U.S. model arriving in the fall of ’09 as a 2010. Unfortunately, Audi says the U.S. market S4 will be available only as a sedan, not as an Avant wagon.

The combined entity would be led by VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and would be recognized under the brand name “Auto Union”.  It has been decided to offer a new name to this merger to make it clear that it is not only VW who will be running the whole show.

The Auto Union name originally belongs to a merger of four German auto makers viz. Horch, Audi, DKW, and wanderer in 1932. The brand gained familiarity in motorsport but went kaput during World War II.

Porsche would be the tenth company to join the VW brand wagon after Bentley, Skoda, and truck maker Scania. The new CEO has confirmed that Porsche would however continue to be an independent company headquartered in Stuttgart.

It has been mutually decided that VW would buy a 49% stake in Porsche, the sports car unit of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.The new CEO added that this is the first step in creating an integrated automotive group by the end of 2011.

Porsche has decided to sell some voting share to Qatar as a part of the capital increase but it is still unclear whether Qatar would take voting shares in Porsche, VW or both.

VW  CEO described the  company s plan by saying that  both VW and Porsche have been in the auto industry for long and  have an excellent know how at their disposal. Both the companies can effectively use their resources by combining them. This would create additional growth opportunities, create new jobs, and safeguard the existing jobs.

Like Audi, Porsche can however continue its independent entity and preserve its identity.

Martin Winterkorn added that “We have great respect for the achievements of the Porsche workforce and are convinced that Porsche can enrich the Volkswagen Group – just as Volkswagen can vice versa enrich Porsche.”

The merger may be an advantage to both the companies as  both the brands are powerful brands rich in tradition and technical know how, they can efficiently use the resources of one another to move ahead at the same time may be advantage to the whole of automobile fraternity.