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Audi spearheads development of an ultra-luxurious EV code-named Landjet

The rumors claiming Audi wants to release a model positioned above the A8, and the reports of an ongoing electric car development program called Artemis internally, have seemingly converged. Citing sources inside the carmaker, a German media outlet reported the firm is busily creating a super-luxurious EV code-named Landjet. Audi is leading the development process, but sister companies Bentley and Porsche will reportedly receive their own version of the Landjet. All three models will likely take the form of three-row SUVs with generous dimensions. They'll be so big that none of Audi's production facilities will be able to manufacture them, according to an anonymous insider who spoke with German newspaper Handelsblatt. Luckily, Volkswagen makes vans, too. It's too early to tell what will power the Landjets. Audi assigned some of its most brilliant engineers to Project Artemis, and the technology they develop will permeate the three EVs before trickling down into cheaper models in the group. Expect high performance, a high driving range, and semi-automated driving technology. If the report is accurate, the Landjet vehicles will enter production in Hanover, Germany, by the end of 2024. The facility currently makes the Volkswagen Transporter, which is a direct descendant of the rear-engined Bus sold for decades, and it will start manufacturing the production version of the ID.Buzz concept in the coming years. Volkswagen hasn't commented on the report, and car companies rarely address speculation, but its Commercial Vehicles division released a statement in November 2020 that confirms the Hanover site will begin building SUVs about halfway through the 2020s. It's a major shift for a factory normally tasked with manufacturing vans. "Our main plant in Hanover is becoming the production site for three completely new premium electric vehicles in the Group. These D-SUVs are genuine flagship projects: premium, 100% electric, and highly automated," said Carsten Intra, the head of Volkswagen's Commercial Vehicles division, in a statement. He added the firm will invest about 680 million euros (about $807 million) to build a new assembly line, among other upgrades.

Preparing for Le Mans 2014 Porsche remembers 1971 and the 917 [w/video]

Porsche has given us another look back at its successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This time it's 1971, the year that its 917 set records that haven't all been eclipsed. It's 45-kilogram magnesium tube frame was the lightest, Jackie Oliver set the fastest in-race lap with a time that still stands, and winning drivers Helmut Marko - the same Helmut Marko currently with Infiniti Red Bull Racing - and Gilles Lethem did so many laps that their distance wasn't exceeded until the Audi R15 TDI did it in 2010.
1971 was also the year of the "Pink Pig." With bodywork created by a French aerodynamics firm, the wider, rounder 917 earned the porcine moniker so Porsche painted it pink and labeled it with the cuts you'd get from a pig. Sponsor Martini was so miffed they demanded all Martini branding be removed. No one can remove the thousands of photographs taken of the car ever since. Enjoy that and more in the video below.

Porsche planning new 911 Speedster as 550 tribute

Some look at the emergence of a new Porsche 911 and see a car. But to Porsche engineers, it might as well be a reset button. Because every time a new 911 comes out, it sets off a tidal wave of new variants to follow, including convertibles, turbos, targas, GT3s... the works.
The next down the pipeline, though, could be one of the most desirable. That, according to German publication Auto Bild, will be a new 911 Speedster. When it arrives early in 2015, the special roadster will reportedly be limited to just 550 examples in tribute to the original 550 Spyder.
It'll reportedly have hidden door handles, a chopped-down windshield and a fabric top to be used only in case of emergency, manually disappearing below a carbon-fiber cowling. All of which makes it sounds as much like a bigger version of the Boxster Spyder as a successor to the last 911 Speedster (pictured above), and that's no bad thing at all.