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World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).

VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle. VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone. In the near-term, the brands have their own plans: Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is said to want a Chiron Superleggera, a roofless and "completely reskinned" Chiron Aperta, and a track-only Chiron SS. The Superleggera could take the Chiron Sport's and Divo's Jenny Craig routines even further. The Aperta seems a natural successor to the Veyron Grand Sport, a natural evolution of the recently introduced Sky View roof, and a reskin might include numerous Divo cues. It's also said Bugatti's considering "an all-electric high-end model" in conjunction with Porsche, Rimac, and Dallara, but name one supercar or hypercar manufacturer that isn't considering a lightning-fast EV. Lamborghini, deep into work on follow-ups for the Huracan and Aventador, might get a bit of a bump with the new plan. The carbon "monofuselage" for the next V12 flagship is said to be too far developed and too complex to scrap. It puts two electric motors on the front axle, batteries in the middle, and a naturally aspirated V12 with around 770 horsepower plus another e-motor with 402 horsepower in back. The Huracan is said to get a version of the same carbon architecture at the moment, but the corporate reorganization might press pause on it. Automobile says options include continuing the Huracan/ Audi R8 twinning, but that depends on Audi saying "Ja" to a third-gen R8 with Lamborghini bones.

Is Porsche planning a GT5?

A trademark application filed in Europe suggests Porsche could be planning a GT5 model to slot at the bottom of its track-focused sports car lineup. The German automaker's GT skunkworks division in Weissach earned its reputation with enthusiasts producing the GT3 and GT3 RS versions of the 911, and previously offered GT2 and even GT1 models as well (although the latter was a limited homologation special). It recently extended itself slightly downmarket with the launch of the Cayman GT4, but this trademark application – already reportedly accepted in Germany and currently being reviewed by the European office – suggests an even more accessible model could be on its way, Autocar reports. Just what form a GT5 would take, however, remains a mystery. The numerical progression would suggest that Porsche is planning a hardcore version of an even smaller sports car, if such a project ever got off the ground to slot in below the Boxster and Cayman. Given that the 911 has bred both GT2 and GT3 versions, Weissach could alternatively be planning an additional GT version of the Cayman, or planning a hardcore version of the Boxster. The prospect of a GT5 version of the Macan, Cayenne, or Panamera seems unlikely as the alphanumeric designation has never been applied to anything other than a two-door coupe, but then we never really know what the future will bring: Before 2002 Porsche had never done anything with more than two doors altogether. These designations are typically borrowed from their corresponding racing class, and of course there is no GT5 category. But then most of these racing classes have been amalgamated into GT3 anyway, unless Porsche is planning on using the name for its own entry-level spec racing series. But at this point we're just spitballing. It's just as likely that the company has simply filed the trademark application to keep its options open for the future. Related Video: