New Audi news

[bs986@freenet.carleton.ca (Thomas A Robbs)]

This is a copy of some articles I read at my local library, kind of long
but pretty interesting to me anyway, hope you find it interesting also.

Automotive News   August 19, 1996  page 37
VWs strategy: 3 platforms for 3 million cars
Greg Kable - Special Correspondent

Stuttgart, Germany - When it comes to sheer numbers of variations,
Volkswagen AG is implementing the worlds most ambitious common platform
scheme.  It is also one of the first.  With the launch this summer of the
VW Passat, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia, the platform strategy established
three years ago by Chairman Ferdinand Piech is in full force.  Three VW
vehicle platforms will be the basis of 3 million cars and at least 15
models by 2000, Automotive News Europe estimates.  Each future model from
Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat will be based on one of four platforms. 
The goal is to cut development time, reduce build time, improve quality
and slash prices.  Saddled with some of the highest costs in the industry
when he took over in 1991, Piech made platform sharing a priority. 
Volkswagen said in 1993 that it would take eight years to implement the
plan.  But cost reductions already may be playing through to the bottom
line.  Last week, VW said net profits rose to 282 million German marks
($191 million) from $76.5 million in the first six months of the year.

Lower Breakeven Point
Senior officials say the breakeven point at VWs Wolfsburg plant has been
slashed from 103 percent of capacity to around 70 percent.  Sources say
more reductions are expected when the next generation VW Golf begins
running down the line next year.  The Seat Ibiza kicked off Piechs
platform strategy in early 1993, followed by the Volkswagen Polo in late
1994.  Both cars are based on the smallest AO class platform.  In a
shortened wheelbase form, the platform also will see service in the
Volkswagen EA420 and Seat Marabella replacement.  Those two new sub-Polo
segment cars are due to be launched early next year as rivals to the
upcoming Ford Ka.  The AO class structure could also be used by a future
entry-level Skoda.  The centerpiece of VWs strategy is the A platform that
recently debuted on the Audi A3 and the Skoda Octavia.  Supporting both
front- and four-wheel drive, the A platform will be featured in the Golf
IV and several derivatives, including replacements for the Vento, Corrado,
Golf wagon and cabriolet, as well as the Volkswagen Beetle and the
replacement for Seats Cordoba.  The larger B class platform, also designed
for fwd and 4wd, differs from the AO and A class platforms by placing
engine and transmission in a longitudinal position.  Besides the Audi A4,
the B platform is used by the new Volkswagen Passat and the future Seat
Toledo replacement.  In a long wheelbase form it is also the basis of next
years Audi A6, which will be built in sedan, wagon and coupe body styles

Expensive Platform
On its own is the Audi A8 platform, known internally as C/D.  It differs
radically from the others.  It supports an advanced aluminum space frame
structure to which a lightweight aluminum body shell is fixed.  The
platform cost a lot of money during development in the early 1980s and it
is not expected to be radically altered when the next generation debuts in
1999.  According to Wolfsburg insiders, each car in the Volkswagen Group -
except the largely unique A8 - will have at least 60 percent parts
commonality with another vehicle.  This cuts development time and costs on
future models.  It also brings uniformity to production processes,
promoting economies of scale.  Each of the four platforms offers design
variability.  Wheelbases can be shortened, as in the case of the EA420, or
lengthened, as with the Audi A6 replacement.  The "hard points" - critical
engineering locations where expensive components join - are fixed early in
development.  Thus, expensive items such as the engine, gearbox,
suspension, bulkhead, fuel tank and the front and rear tracks can become
part-shared componentry.  Volkswagen says that eventually it wants to sell
up to 2 million A class cars and 1 million each of the AO class and B
class cars per year.  The Audi A8 and its C/D platform are projected at
15,000 to 20,000 sales anually.  A fifth platform could be added if
advanced production studies on a radical new Audi small car come to
fruition.  Like the big A8 flagship, the tiny four-seat city car has been
developed using extruded aluminum body shell.  The design will cut weight
to a minimum.

Volkswagen Group platforms

AO platform
Front-wheel drive. Transverse engine layout.
Volkswagen EA420
Seat Marbella replacement
VW Polo
Seat Ibiza
New entry-level Skoda

A platform
Front- and four-wheel drive (syncro). Transverse engine layout
Audi A3 3-door
Audi A3 5-door
Audi TT
Audi TTS
VW Golf 3-door
VW Golf 5-door
VW Vento
VW Corrado
VW Golf wagon
VW Golf cabriolet
VW Beetle
VW Beetle cabriolet
Seat Cordoba
Seat Cordoba wagon
Skoda Octavia sedan
Skoda Octavia wagon

B platform
Front- and four-sheel drive (quattro). Longitudinal engine layout
Audi A4 sedan
Audi A4 wagon
Audi A6 sedan
Audi A6 wagon
Audi A6 coupe
VW Passat
VW Passat wagon
Seat Toledo

C/D platform
Front- and four-wheel drive (quattro)
Audi A8

Automotive News   August 26, 1996  page 6
Volkswagen gives Passat distinction
Redesigned car due in U.S. next spring
Greg Kable - Special Correspondent

Stuttgart, Germany - with the fifth generation Passat, Volkswagen is out
to bury its image of blandness in the mid-priced segment.  The redesigned
sedan goes on sale across Europe in late October and heads to the U.S.
market next spring.  The new look, courtesy of VW design chief Hartmut
Warkuss, is intended to give the new Passat a higher profile than the
current model.  VWs new flagship shares a front-wheel-drive platform with
the Audi A4.  The Passat also borrows much of the A4s mechanical hardware,
including its sophisticated four-link front suspension.  VW claims the
redesigned model provides better performance and handling and improved
refinement and safety. The new car is about 10 percent more rigid that the
out-going Passat in torsional stiffness, Volkswagen says.  The new Passat
is slightly longer and wider than the model it replaces.  A station wagon
will bow early next year in Europe.  No word on U.S. availability.  For
Europe, a wider choice of engines will be available from the start in a
bid to counter tough competition from the Ford Mondeo and the Opel Vectra.
 An all-new, 193-horsepower, 24-valve VR5 makes its debut in the Passat. 
The engine is a development of VWs acclaimed 15-degree VR6 unit used in
the out-going Passat.  Tuned for strong mid-range performance rather than
all-out power, the compact five-cylinder also will appear in the
fourth-generation Golf due in the United States in early 1998. 
Four-cylinder engine offerings in Europe range form a 16-valve 1.6-liter
to a 20-valve 1.8-liter powerplant.  The Passat also will be offered with
a 24-valve 2.8 liter V-6 and a pair of 1.9-liter four-cylinder diesels
using direct-injection technology.  For Europe, volume versions will come
with front-wheel derive and a five-speed manual transmission.  Volkswagen
also will offer Syncro four-wheel and an Audi-engineered five-speed
automatic transmission.  Porsches Tiptronic transmission will be available
on top-line models.  Depending on the market, the new Passat will come
with standard anti-lock brakes; driver, passenger and side airbags; power
door locks and windows; adjustable steering; 15-inch wheels; and heat
insulating glass.  Volkswagen sold 177,585 Passats in Europe in calendar
1995, and 15,577 in North America.

Automotive News   August 26, 1996  page 18
Future Products - Europe

Audi
A4:  The  new A4 debuted in the United States as a 1996 model and has been
well received.  A station wagon is expected to join the line at the
beginning of the 1998 calendar year.  An S4 Quattro sport version with a
five-valve-per-cylinder, 2.8-liter V-6 is expected at the Paris show in
October.  A convertible is likely in Europe next year.  But theres no word
on whether either of those models will be sold in North America.
A6:  An all-new model is due in the middle of the 1997 calendar year to
rival the new BMW 5 series and Mercedes-Benz E class.  The car will be
build on a modular platform that will be shared with the A4 and new
Volkswagen Passat.  Early in the 1998 calendar year, a performance version
with quattro all-wheel drive and a 4.2 liter V-8 may appear.
A8:  Audis aluminum-bodied flagship arrives in the United States this
October.  The front-wheel-drive sedan will be powered by a 3.7-liter V-8,
and the quattro will have a 4.2-liter V-8.  The A8 will be replaced late
in the 1999 calendar year in Europe, and the U.S. version will follow some
time later.  The next generation A8 will use the current platform, though
changes are planned for the suspension.  The aluminum body shell is
expected to be all-new.  A 60-valve, 5.6-liter V-12 has been proposed, but
it hasnt been approved.  No word on whether that engine would be offered
in North America.

Tom


--
Thomas A. Robbs   bs986@freenet.carleton.ca
1988 90Q          Milwaukee, WI - USA