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As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

Lamborghini Centenario possibly revealed in patent photos

Newly published Lamborghini patent images might give us a preview of the upcoming Centenario, which celebrates the hundredth anniversary of Ferruccio Lamborghini's birth. The low-slung design features a pointed nose, and the profile has an arc running from the tip of the front to the rear. The shape looks like it would slice through the air, and the massive diffuser is definitely attention grabbing at the rear. From the top, there appears to be a small, roof-mounted vent into the engine compartment. Three exhausts poke out the rear, including a slightly smaller one in the center. In traditional Lamborghini fashion, visibility out the back seems practically nonexistent. Hopefully, the company mounts a camera back there to make life easier. Lamborghini reportedly bases the Centenario on the Aventador, which seems likely from these renderings. The company allegedly plans to build 20 coupes and 20 convertibles for $2.4 million each, and power would come from a more potent version of the supercar's V12. Rumors suggest we might see the Centenario launch at the Geneva Motor Show in early March, but the debut might be perfunctory. Even at the astronomical price, they're supposedly already sold out. These renderings come from the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market, which handles patents and trademarks in the European Union. The documents with this listing unfortunately don't give away the model name, but it shows Lamborghini registered for the design patent on October 26, 2015. The renderings were just published on February 17, 2016. Related Video:

Transformers: The Last Knight promises a Lamborghini Centenario and lots of explosions

The director of the Transformers series, Michael Bay, took to Twitter to reveal the trailer for the latest installment, Transformers: The Last Knight. Based on the trailer, it looks like the film will likely deliver everything Transformers fans of the series enjoy, including big explosions, big robots, and most interesting for us, cool cars. Although this particular trailer is a little light on the car action, careful examination reveals some nifty machines. There will be at least a few massive International trucks painted in drab military colors. We also spotted a new Mustang in police livery. The most exciting ride we spotted, though, is a Lamborghini Centenario – the $2.5 million limited-run supercar – tearing through what looks like London. Bumblebee also makes an appearance, though not in his custom Camaro form. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Speaking of Bumblebee, it looks like he, and pretty much everyone else in the film, is going to have a rough time. The trailer shows that Earth is without Optimus Prime now, and his body is shown floating through space. In the meantime, some object has come to Earth, and it appears to have started a fairly massive war between humanity and, we're guessing, the Decepticons. Optimus Prime does eventually return, but he seems to have become an enemy, and is fighting Bumblebee at the end of the trailer. However, the leader of the Autobots going bad is probably the least confusing part of the trailer, as it starts showing knights fighting a dragon, and then segues into clips of Nazi Germany, all before actually getting to the present day. We should get some answers when the film hits theaters on June 23, 2017. Related Video: News Source: Michael Bay / Twitter via VarietyImage Credit: Paramount Pictures / YouTube Celebrities TV/Movies Lamborghini Coupe Supercars Videos movie trailer lamborghini centenario