Auto blog

Volkswagen may soon have remedy for more cheating diesels

Nearly a half-million motorists who own Volkswagens equipped with 2.0-liter engines have known for a few weeks the company might wind up buying back their vehicles as part of a settlement surrounding the company's emissions cheating. But about 85,000 drivers who own similarly afflicted diesels with 3.0-liter engines have been stuck without a remedy. They may not be waiting much longer. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen will soon propose a fix for vehicles, including those from Audi and Porsche, equipped with 3.0-liter engines that will include new software and a new catalytic converter for the vehicles. Discussions with federal regulators are ongoing, according to the news outlet. "We are cooperating with the regulatory agencies and working with them on an approved solution," says Audi spokesperson Mark Clothier. "Beyond that, we cannot comment on ongoing investigations." Regulators have alleged that the company's 3.0-liter engines contain "defeat devices," illegal software that allows a vehicle to detect when it's undergoing an emissions test and turn off pollution control during real-world driving. The defeat device allows these vehicles to increase emissions of nitrogen oxide up to nine times the Environmental Protection Agency's allowable threshold. Affected 3.0-liter vehicles include the 2014 Volkswagen Toureg, 2015 Porsche Cayenne and the 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5. Volkswagen is slated to finalize its plans for buying back the afflicted 2.0-liter cars and potentially offer those motorists "substantial compensation" for their troubles by June 21, and it's possible that a formal announcement on the 3.0-liter vehicles would come at the same time. Related Video:

Magnus Walker and Alex Ross stop by Leno's garage with their 997 GT2

The market is littered with Porsche 911 tuners, with names like 9ff, Gemballa and TechArt leading the field. Seldom do any two ever collaborate on a joint project, but that's just the kind of match that was made at Jay Leno's Garage. That's where Alex Ross of SharkWerks and restomodder Magnus Walker first met, sparking a collaboration that yielded the car you see here. And fittingly, they've brought it back to the garage to show off what resulted. Though Walker usually deals with older Elfens, this time he applied his eye for style on a more contemporary 2008 997 GT2, decking it out with grey stripes, orange bumpers, gold wheels and decals and a tartan-upholstered interior. He left the mechanical bits to Ross and company, who dropped the suspension and increased output to 650 horsepower at the wheels (775 at the crank), surpassing the stock GT2 and even the later GT2 RS. The result is pretty hard-core and old-school, but you'll want to watch the video above to see for yourself.

Magnus Walker turbocharges his love for the Porsche 911

He's had his fill of early, long-hood Porsche 911s - he owns at least one from each model year, from 1964 to 1973 - so Magnus Walker, a fanatic of the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker, recently set his sights on the early Porsche 930, as documented by this XCAR video called 'Turbo Fever.' Let us translate: pretty soon Walker will own all of the earliest, non-intercooled 911 Turbos - at least one from each model year, starting at 1975 and ending at 1977 (though the 1975 911 Turbo Carrera never officially was imported to the US by Porsche, so it'll be tougher to find one Stateside).
Any Porsche enthusiast can tell you why they love their car, and it often comes down to the small details that differentiate one model year from another. One of many examples is the mid-'80s 928. They look similar, but the basic difference between a 1984 Porsche 928 S and a 1985 928 S (US-spec) is two camshafts and 54 horsepower, though each car's V8 has its own pros and cons. We'll let Magnus Walker tell you all about the 930 and what makes the first three years special, as he's becoming quite the expert on early, air-cooled 911s. When the nearly 15-minute mini-documentary was filmed, which you can view below, he already had added four early 930s to his collection!