Audi Reveals Future Investment Plans, Will Spend Three Billion Euros in 2016

Audi has released a statement regarding its future investment plans and it turns out they involve a capital expenditure of over three billion euros in 2016 alone.

The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer wants to continue its push on future technologies to strengthen its position on the market. The investments planned by Audi also go hand-in-hand with a cost optimization process, so that the company doesn’t waste money in its quest to become the world’s number one premium car maker. Therefore, Audi will also employ a hiring spree targeted at experts in various domains relevant to the company’s future.

According to the brand’s latest press release, half of the three billion euro investment will go to the company’s German factories in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. These will be upgraded to become more cost-effective and more eco-friendly.

Naturally, the company wants to further push its quality of manufacture. Obviously, any cuts will be carefully examined before they’re done. The first of them is postponing the construction of a new wind tunnel for one year.

The press release announcing Audi’s new plans reconfirmed the launch of the next generation Q5 for 2015 and the official name of the company’s smallest SUV so far, the Q2. Until recently, the name of the smallest SUV planned by Audi was supposed to be Q1, but a trademark dispute with Alfa Romeo made the Germans make a deal and market their car as the Q2. The solution is unexpected, as the Italians also used the Q2 name in some of their cars.

The second half of Audi’s 2016 three-billion-euro investment is focused on alternative drive systems. These range from hybrids and alternative fuel solutions to full-on electric vehicles. One of these cars will be the Audi Q6, scheduled for launch in 2018 with a design inspired by the Audi e-tron Quattro concept.

The range expansion from the brand with the Four Rings will eventually lead to a portfolio of 60 different automobiles. That’s impressive, to say the least, when it comes from a premium brand and not from a manufacturer of volume cars.

Porsche Exclusive Drops Hints on How to Configure the Facelifted 911

Porsche might be on a mission to integrate greener propulsion tech into its traditional ways and yet there are some faces of Zuffenhausen that will remain unchanged for quite a while. One of these is the Porsche Exclusive division, which has recently released its take on the revamped 911 line-up.

The automaker's personalization arm chose to target more than just the 911 Turbo, also gifting the new turbocharged Carrera S with exterior and interior goodies. This is Porsche Exclusive dropping a few hints on how to configure a Neunelfer.

Let's talk about the 911 Carrera 4S first

For instance, the 911 Carrera 4S present in the gallery below shows 20-inch Carrera Sport wheels that use a High-Gloss Black finish, SportDesign side skirts and door mirrors (Black lower arms), as well as the model designation present on the doors, with Black being the color of choice. The same hue was used for the headlight inner elements.

Customers who want to go even further can choose from the usual rich list of options, which includes tinted windows and High-Gloss Porsche logos and Black Sports tailpipes.

Stepping inside, we find Yellow details for the dashboard instruments, as well as for the Sport Chrono Package-included chronograph and seatbelts. The German specialist has also used a carbon fiber finish for the dashboard trim and the heated, multifunction steering wheel.

What about that Turbo?

While the 911 Turbo clientele can select the items mentioned above, the car shown here also sports a High-Gloss Black theme for the aero package and rear fender air intakes and Black taillights. The cabin sees Bordeaux Red details being mixed with a logo embossed on the center armrest and an aluminum package.

You can check out the eye-catching side of the personalization details in the gallery below, where you'll also find the visual story of a 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet and a 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.

Chevrolet Trax Makes a Statement with Midnight Edition

Chevrolet Trax, the smallest SUV in the brand’s portfolio, will be available in a special edition called Midnight.

This particular version of the Trax is based on the top-spec LTZ trim, but it comes in black and the interior is all gray. The black paint job is complemented by a set of alloy wheels with a shiny black finish, as well as black bezels, black beltline molding and, naturally, black door handles. However, the rear bumper has a light gray ornament. The Trax Midnight Edition's interior features gray accents for the seats and gray piping on the floor mats.

Available starting February 2016, the Chevrolet Trax Midnight Edition will cost $500 over the LTZ's suggested retail price of $26,125. So, interested customers are looking at a minimum of $26,625 without tax, title, and other dealer fees.

In the first 11 months of this year, the Chevrolet Trax has managed to attain the second position in its segment regarding sales. According to Chevrolet, the Trax sold 57,707 units in the time period, making up for an approximate market share of 20%. Sales of other crossovers from Chevrolet rose 35% in the same period. The Trax’s bigger siblings include the Equinox, the Traverse, the Tahoe, and the famed Suburban.

The Chevrolet Trax is responsible for bringing more female clients to the brand, as well as new, younger customers. This observation comes directly from Betsy Flegg, senior marketing manager for Chevrolet’s crossover range. The Trax is available both in FWD and all-wheel drive variants and can even be fitted with a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot.

Like in Europe, the small SUV segment has the highest growth rates and most manufacturers want to involve themselves in this class with one model to get a piece of the action. Chevrolet decided to celebrate the sales success of the Trax in 2015 with this special edition of their smallest crossover.

BMW Will Only Assemble Five M4 GTS Units a Day

BMW M GmbH will only make five M4 GTS cars a day. The vehicles will be assembled by hand in the same factory that made the M6 GT3 and the M135i Cup.

The German company can afford to only build five M4 GTS units a day, though, since it’s only making 700 of them. If they used a classic production line, the assembly process could be expedited, but the guys at BMW M GmbH prefer their old school approach to this issue.

This information came to light once Frank van Meel, Managing Director of BMW’s M branch, disclosed the hand-assembled character of the M4 GTS in an interview with the Dutch at De Telegraaf’s Autovisie. It appears that the M4’s special edition first leaves the factory as a standard M4 Coupe, and then gets into the BMW M division’s workshop and becomes all it can be.

The same report announces that the M4 GTS is almost sold out and any interested parties should quickly contact their local BMW importer. Out of the 700 BMW M4 GTS cars, 300 are reserved for the United States of America, while 50 are bound for Canada and 30 for the United Kingdom. The other 350 remaining units are destined for the rest of the markets on which the car will be available.

Deliveries of the new BMW M4 GTS are expected to begin in summer 2016. Production has yet to start, the first cars being scheduled for assembly in March 2016. Given the limited production of the car and the already-disclosed production rate, the BMW M4 GTS will end production before we reach 2017.

BMW’s M4 GTS is the fastest road car ever offered by the German company. The vehicle can be optionally fitted with a Clubsport Package that brings a six-point seatbelt, an on-board fire extinguisher and a roll bar painted in “Acid Orange.”

TVR's Relaunch Is One Step Closer, New Car Will Get Optional Carbon Fiber Chassis

Earlier this year, we were reporting that TVR managed to pre-sell its entire scheduled production for the first year in just six weeks. From then and up until now, there was nearly complete radio silence from TVR’s new owners.

But rest assured they didn’t run away with the money. Instead, they were actually very busy coming up with the defining touches on the first model marking the return of one of the weirdest and most loved British sports cars manufacturers.

According to Les Edgar, TVR’s chairman, most of the time since September has been spent on the finishing touches of the car’s design: “[...] so much work involved in getting everything to work together properly, to proper modern day standards of fit finish and aero, not to say legislative requirement, while at the same time doing proper justice (in all respects) to TVR's lineage and DNA.”

Judging from the image provided, the new car does indeed do justice to the crazy TVR designs of old, looking just like a modern Sagaris should. Of course, this image doesn’t depict a finished product in any way, but it does give an idea about where the team is headed with its new model. “Suffice to say we're pretty happy with where we are!” says Edgar, and if he’s happy, we’re happy too.

Another important aspect for TVR that took a lot of time was to find a new home for this historic British manufacture, a place that would carry weight and that people would want to visit. It wasn’t just a decision based on cold facts like cost and logistics - no, Edgar says that the company’s home has to say something about it, it needs to be a statement of its future intent. TVR will be announcing the new location in the company’s next update that is scheduled for the first part of 2016, together with more info about the car. Stuff like basic performance figures, pricing and availability.

Speaking of performance, Edgar confirmed once again that the new TVR will be using a Cossworth V8 unit that they’ve actually fired up for the first time during this communication break. Not only that, but the engine was also installed on what will form the basis for the race car mule that was then placed on a dyno. Which it promptly broke. Promising signs.

The new TVR sports car aims for a weight of around 1,100 kg (around 2,400 lbs), but it isn’t clear if that’s the value for the cars using Gordon Murray’s new iStream Carbon production process, available as an option. However, all pre-orders will get it free of charge.

The car is expected to begin testing on the road around the Cosworth HQ in Northampton soon, so if you’re an aspiring spy photographer, grab your gear, head over to that place and send us a shot or two.

The next update should bring considerably more info on the table, including the two most important aspects: performance figures and pricing. According to Edgar, though, the new TVR will sit in a class of its own since finding “a worthy opponent” would require spending £250,000 ($370,000). That’s dangerously close to supercar territory.

2016 Mahindra New Cars

Details of the new and updated Mahindra vehicles launching in Australia in 2016.

Genio update – January

After listening to feedback from Australian customers, an updated version of the Mahindra Genio ute will arrive in January with revised front-end styling and dark interior trim.

Revised headlights and a reworked grille and bumper give the 2016 Genio a more assertive appearance, while the cabin trades its cream plastics, carpets and fabrics for black and grey materials far better suited to the workhorse.

The changes won’t affect pricing, which means the 4×2 single-cab will continue to be priced from $19,990 driveaway and the 4×4 dual-cab will top the line-up at $26,990 driveaway.

XUV500 update – January (manual), Q2 (auto)

The 2016 Mahindra XUV500 will introduce updated exterior styling, a refreshed interior, a host of new technology and convenience features, and most significantly a new six-speed automatic transmission.

The auto gearbox will arrive in the second quarter of the year, and should put the Indian SUV on the radar of thousands of new shoppers that have previously overlooked its manual-only predecessor.

The facelifted XUV500 seven-seater gets a revised grille with chrome inserts, new foglights with chrome surrounds, a redesigned bonnet, new 17-inch alloy wheels, chrome window lining and chrome tailgate garnish.

Inside there’s a new dual-tone dashboard, beige leather seats, six-way electric driver’s seat, push-button start, electric sunroof, aluminium pedals, blue lighting and illuminated scuff plates.

New technology items available overseas include static bending projector headlamps that swivel to face the direction of travel, logo-projecting puddle lamps, brake energy regeneration, keyless entry, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with a new infotainment system that includes a reverse-view camera with dynamic guiding lines, and a voice messaging alert system.

2016 Maserati New Cars

Details of the new and updated Maserati vehicles launching in Australia in 2016.

Levante – late 2016

The long-awaited Maserati Levante SUV will make its world premiere at March’s Geneva motor show before storming into Australian showrooms at the very end of 2016.

While Maserati is yet to officially reveal or tease the styling of the Levante, patent sketches and spy shots have already given us a clear indication of what to expect from the new Porsche Cayenne rival.

Expect the Levante to borrow powertrain technology from the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans, likely offering versions of the duo’s 3.0-litre V6 diesel, twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6, and 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engines.

A plug-in hybrid drivetrain has also been rumoured for release further down the track.