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Piech's dismissal from VW came after failed coup to oust Winterkorn

When the Volkswagen board ousted its chairman Ferdinand Piech over the weekend, we knew right away it had something to do with disapproval of chief executive Martin Winterkorn. And now we have more details of how that struggle reportedly came to a head. According to Reuters, Piech undertook a cloak-and-dagger campaign to oust Winterkorn as CEO, even after having publicly endorsed the top executive's leadership of the company. Piech reportedly focused on other members of his family – descendants of Ferdinand Porsche and majority stakeholders in Volkswagen – to install Porsche chief Matthias Mueller as group CEO in Winterkorn's stead. But Piech failed in his campaign, and was given an ultimatum by the board: either show yourself out or we'll kick you out. And so he resigned. A big part of Winterkorn's rescue and Piech's failure reportedly came at the hands of labor representatives on the VW board, like Berthold Huber who was appointed as acting chairman following Piech's departure. That may leave Winterkorn still in charge, but may leave him beholden to the unions even more than before. Winterkorn has been undertaking a concerted campaign to cut overhead costs at VW, but the trade unions have reportedly been blocking many of the steps the chief exec has proposed. The next big question is who will ultimately replace Piech in the long term at the head of the board table. Winterkorn could get the nod, leaving the company to find a new CEO to take his place. Another likely scenario, however, would be another member of the Porsche/Piech family taking the helm and leaving Winterkorn in place. Whether Ferdinand Piech ultimately sells his 13.2 percent stake in the company (likely to other members of his family) or holds on to it and exerts influence behind the scenes is an open question. One way or another, any major appointment at the head of either the management or supervisory board will require support from the Porsche/Piech family, from the works council of labor representatives and from the state government of Lower Saxony, so the process of filling Piech's vacancy will likely prove anything but straightforward. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Thomas Kienzle/APN Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Volkswagen martin winterkorn

2015 Volkswagen e-Golf

Until now, the only way you could get the words "electric" and "Golf" so close together was the put the word "cart" after them. Knowing that the e-Golf would be the next step in Volkswagen's tilt at electrification, the automaker designed the MkVII platform to fit a myriad of drivetrains, none of which would require purchasers to sacrifice the Golf-ness that makes the best-selling car in Europe, not to mention a huge hit here in the States. In the e-Golf that means power electronics underhood and an amoeba-shaped battery that fits in the floorpan, between the axles, where it won't ooze into the interior space. We look at the e-Golf as another kind of crossover: traditional cars that just happen to be electric, offering a taste of the new EV religion in soothing, recognizable garb. We had one for a week in its natural habitat, Los Angeles and the surrounding area. We really like the fact that, powertrain aside, it maintains everything we dig about the Golf. The caveat is that this is an EV first and a Golf second – you must first address the EV challenges and live within EV constraints, then you can enjoy the Golf bits. Even so, it's the electric car this writer would buy once we acquired the lifestyle to make proper use of it. The most noticeable exterior change to the e-Golf are 16-inch Astana wheels wrapped in 205-series tires that reduce rolling resistance by ten percent. Once you've cottoned on to that, the other alterations become apparent: the blue trim strip underlining the radiator grille, the redesigned bumper with the C-shaped decoration LED lights and the full-LED headlamps above them, the little blue "e" in the model name on the rear hatch. You won't notice the underbody paneling, that the frontal area of the e-Golf is ten percent smaller than that of a traditional Golf, that the radiator is closed off, or the reshaped rear spoiler and vanes on the C-pillars. Volkswagen says this results in a ten-percent drop in drag, getting the coefficient down to 0.281, but the standard Golf is also listed at 0.28. The TSI and TDI are 0.29. No matter those numbers, the point is the e-Golf looks just like... a Golf. The 12,000-rpm, 85-kW electric motor equates to 115 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque, which compares to 146 hp and 236 lb-ft from the 2.0-liter diesel Golf. It takes 4.2 seconds to get to 37 miles per hour, 10.4 seconds to hit 62 mph, and the little guy tops out at 87 mph.

Volkswagen hits Gran Turismo with GTI Supersport concept [w/video]

As impressive as are the production hot hatches that Volkswagen offers based on the Golf, the German automaker cooks up even more impressive conceptual versions. Like this latest design for Gran Turismo 6. The GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo is like the GTI you can pick up at your local VW dealer, only more so. The design brings the VR6 back to the GTI, this time packing a (hypothetical) 503 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque, channeled to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive. In the virtual reality of GT6, that's said to be enough to propel this digital concept to 62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed in excess of 186 mph. Naturally VW's designers gave the GTI Supersport concept the show to accompany the go, gracing the shape with more vents, more extreme aero, a wider stance on 20-inch wheels... the works. All that is said to give it a lower center of gravity and a power-to-weight ratio of 5.5 pounds per horsepower. Of course the GTI Supersport isn't the first hot Golf concept VW has dreamt up in recent years. There was the earlier GTI Roadster concept also revealed for the Vision Gran Turismo series, the Golf R 400 concept that may yet see production, and the bonkers GTI W12 650 concept with its mid-mounted twelve-cylinder engine. This one may never see production, but at least gamers will be able to drive it remotely on PlayStation. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Wolfsburg, 14 April 2015 Next level: Volkswagen presents new digital supercar - GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo excites PlayStation fans - Race car with 503 HP now available for downloading Volkswagen is expanding its GTI fleet and sending a new supercar onto the digital race circuit. The engine roaring under the bonnet of the GTI Supersport is a 503 HP VR6 TSI coupled with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). The design of this digital supercar combines the Volkswagen icon with sheer racing design. Following last year's roadster, another version of the GTI, with its long racing tradition, can now head for the starting line on Gran Turismo®6, exclusively on PlayStation®3. The first impression of this racer already shows that the Supersport is what fans want and is designed for racing. 665 Nm of torque catapult the virtual GTI to 100 kilometers per hour from a standing start in only 3.6 seconds.