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Mercedes to offer more tech on next A- and B-Class to attract younger buyers

Technology trickling down from the S-Class will be featured in next-generation A- and B-Class models

Mercedes-Benz will be offering the next-generation A-Class and B-Class models with more technology to attract younger buyers.

Some of the technologies will be coming from top-end models such as the S-Class in a bid by Mercedes-Benz to match the average age of its competitors' customers. The average age of a Mercedes buyer in the United States is 54. For BMW it is 50 and for Audi, 48.

Mercedes will be outfitting their smaller cars with features such as a radar-controlled collision prevention system and on-board Internet connectivity. The next-generation B-Class will also be getting more powerful engines borrowed from the C-Class in order to make the model more attractive.

But pricing may also be a factor in terms of customer appeal and adding technology and offering more powerful engines can only drive costs up. The B-Class is already pricy compared to its competitors. It starts at €24,300 in Germany while the BMW 1-Series has an entry price of €22,200 and the Audi A3 starts at €20,950.

2012 Mercedes A-Class patent photo - 5.11.2011

Golf GTI 35 Edition - Are you GTI enough?

Golf GTI 16S and Golf24 racers will debut alongside 35th anniversary Golf GTI Edition 35

Volkswagen will be bringing 3 special Golf editions to the 2011 Wörthersee show.

The Golf GTI 16S is a racer based on the 1977 Golf GTI developed by KWL Motorsport that comes with a 1.6 liter unit instead of the usual 2.0 liter TFSI. The power plant generates an impressive 215 PS (158 kW / 211 bhp) and is mated to a 5-speed racing gearbox from VW Motorsport.

The 16S also features a Billstein chassis and an 80-liter fuel tank and is a Group 4 competitor at the 24hr race at the Nürburgring.

Speaking of Nürburgring, VW will also be bringing its Golf24 endurance racer to the show.

The real celebratory model to commemorate the Golf GTI's 35th anniversary, though, is the Golf GTI Edition 35 - a model which will actually make it to showrooms and onto the streets.

The Edition 35 comes with more power than the standard GTI via the revised 2.0-liter TFSI petrol engine unit doling out 235 PS (173 kW / 232 hp) instead of the usual 210 PS (155 kW / 207 hp).

The Golf GTI Edition 35 is already available for order in Germany with prices starting at €30,425.

Stay tuned for photos and further details.

Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 - 9.5.2011

VW Golf GTI 35 Edition at Wörthersee 31.05.2011

Aston’s V12 Zagato makes ‘Ring debut

Lots of racing occurred over the weekend. Lots.
In Monaco, a German man won. Across the pond, some people turned left a lot in North Carolina, while a mystery pilot drove an 850bhp truck and jumped it in Indiana. In Germany though, a quite green Aston Martin racer went to the Gym.
Just one week after its debut at Villa d'Este, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato is already being prepped for a run at the famous Nurburgring 24hr, and hit the Green Hell over the weekend in the 53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN race.
Aston's motorsport chief David King said: "The car is still in the very early stages of development. Today was all about working on our race setup."
The Zagato was joined by Smurf and Kermit - Aston's nicknames for the works V8 and V12 Vantage racers - and set about sorting its bits out ahead of the day-long slug fest at the end of June. We'll be there, trying not to fall asleep or get run over, so stay tuned...

Top Gear USA host sets world record

Mystery Team Hot Wheels driver revealed, jumps really really far in a truck…

Did you happen to catch the professional sporting contest involving cars over the weekend? No, not the one in which an advanced humanoid posing as a young, affable German won again. Or the one with our name on it.
We are of course, talking about the Indy 500 - one of the world's biggest and most historic races, and the setting for a rather nifty world record.
Gallery: 11 record-breaking moments from the Indy 500
Team Hot Wheels constructed a 100ft tall, 1,500ft long ramp in an attempt to re-bigulate the dreams of child-like petrolheads the world over: what would a real-life Hot Wheels jump look like?
A lot like this, actually. Top Gear USA host Tanner Foust - revealed as the mystery mentalist - piloted an 850bhp custom-built Pro2-style truck at the centennial Indy 500 race and launched it off the 16ft-high ramp into the abyss.
As well as fulfilling his childhood ambition of catching an abundance of spiffing air, he managed to set a new jump record for a four-wheeled vehicle of 332 feet, smashing the previous record of 301 feet.
"As a kid playing with Hot Wheels I could only dream of experiencing something as outrageous as a life-sized V-Drop track set," said Tanner.
Watch the jump below, and stay tuned for more pics...

Audi A1 clubsport quattro with 500hp revealed at Wörthersee

Highly-modified 2.5 liter, five-cylinder TFSI unit delivers a total output of 370 kW (503 PS / 496 bhp) and 660 Nm (486.79 lb-ft) of torque

Hoping for an Audi RS1? This A1 Clubsport Quattro is that and much more.

This A1 is a one-off vehicle which Audi will be introducing this week at the Wörthersee Tour 2011.

Powered by a highly-modified 2.5 liter, five-cylinder TFSI unit (direct-injection and turbocharged), the A1 Clubsport Quattro boasts a total output of 503 PS (370 kW / 496 bhp) and 660 Nm (486.79 lb-ft) of torque.

And weighing just 1,390 kilograms (3,064 lb), the numbers are great for what you can imagine to be a very nimble A1. 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) comes in at 3.7 seconds. The 0 to 200 km/h (124.27 mph) sprint takes 10.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (155.34 mph).

Transmission is a six-speed manual gearbox driving the Quattro permanent all-wheel drive - both systems borrowed from the TT RS but with modifications. The power band is wide, with an 80 to 120 km/h (49.71 to 74.56 mph) burst in fourth gear taking just 2.4 seconds.

On the outside is a full aerodynamic and wide-body kit which broadens the car by 60 millimeters (2.36 inches). The exhaust pipe comes out of the left side of the A1 Clubsport Quattro, as on the Audi A4 DTM car, just ahead of the rear wheel.

Wheels are 19-inch alloys wrapped in 255/30/R19 low-profile tires and the coilover suspension comes with adjustable compression and rebound damping.

The A1 Clubsport Quattro is dressed in a Glacier White matte paint finish contrasted with the high-gloss black roof made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).

Inside is a leather finish for the center console and the seats but there is no rear bench. Instead, there's a body-stiffening crossbar and storage space for racing helmets.

The Wörtherseetour 2011 takes place in Reifnitz, Austria from June 1 - 4.

See the press release below for full details.

Audi A1 clubsport quattro, Wörthersee Tour, 31.05.2011

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VW may build Tiguan in North America

VW needs to expand North American production in order to reach its sales targets there profitably

It's no secret that VW wants to expand its production in North America beyond the current Passat, Jetta and Beetle models.

The German automaker has just christened a new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee to build the North American-spec Passat (aka NMS) model, which is larger and cheaper than the Euro-spec Passat, and has a very ambitious plan to reach 1 million unit sales of its Audi and VW brand cars in North America by 2018. In order to do that, and do it profitably, it is going to need more local production. VW Group has been hit hard in North America due to declining sales of the VW brand and a strong euro which has hurt the profitability of its premium brand Audi which produces its vehicles in Europe.

According to German business magazine Wirtschafts Woche, VW is considering the Tiguan model for production at either the Chattanooga plant or the Pueblo plant in Mexico, where the Jetta and Beetle are assembled, to increase volume and sales of the model while reducing its costs of production. If VW pulls the trigger on North American production for the Tiguan, it would likely start in 2013.

Since its launch in 2007, the compact SUV Tiguan has sold more than 700,000 total units world wide. The Tiguan received a facelift just this past February and the next-generation is due around 2013.

2012 Volkwagen Tiguan facelift live in Geneva - 01.03.2011

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan facelift - 28.02.2011