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Porsche offering 250-hp 718 Cayman, Boxster in China

Porsche is studying a new approach in the lucrative Chinese market – less power. Automotive News Europe reports that the famed German manufacturer will sell less powerful versions of the 718 Cayman and Boxster in the People's Republic. In fact, the new cars are already on Porsche's Chinese consumer page. The hope, 718 chief Jan Roth told Automotive News Europe, is to replicate the success Porsche's sister company Audi has had with the TT. "A lot of the TTs that Audi sells in China, the smaller displacement 1.8-liter versions with rear-wheel instead of all-wheel-drive, are priced below that, Mercedes too," Roth said. We're guessing the comments about rear-wheel drive and a 1.8-liter engine are either typos or something was lost in translation, because Audi's Chinese website only lists a 2.0-liter engine, and most gearheads know the TT rides on a front-drive platform. Audi's success is largely down to price – 542,800 yuan ($81,549, at today's rates) for a base TT. Roth called 600,000 yuan "a magical threshold for customers in China." To hit that price point, Porsche is dropping the 718's 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder – offered North America and Europe with 300 horsepower in base form – to 250 ponies. The Cayman starts at 588,000 yuan ($88,340) while the Boxster is 598,000 yuan ($89,842). The 350-hp Cayman S will carry on unchanged. According to ANE, Roth said Porsche's Chinese strategy could drive 718 sales up to 4,500 units a year by 2017, nearly double the 2,500 Boxsters and Caymans sold in 2015. Could a similar lower-tiered strategy work in the US? We'll need to put on our speculation hats. In the US, the base car is about 81 percent of the price of the 350-horsepower S model. If Porsche were to offer the same discount for the hypothetical, 250-hp 718s, it could set the starting prices at $43,659 for the Cayman and $45,360 for the Boxster. That lines up neatly with the $43,500 TT Coupe, but this theoretical 250-hp Boxster would fall about $1,640 less than Audi's soft top. We shouldn't forget Porsche's expansive options catalog – we doubt there'd be a lot of sub-$50,000 718s on dealer lots. But still, slashing over $10,000 off the price of a $54,000 car is a big ask – Porsche would almost have to de-content such a lower-tier model. But – and this is a Kim K-sized but – moving the 718 downmarket would open the brand to a new range of consumers. Not only would these new cars be the cheapest sportscars from Porsche money could buy.

Audi reveals new TT spec racer

We've seen the coupe. We've seen the convertible. We're still waiting on word of the next variant, but before it arrives, Audi has revealed the racing version of the new TT.
Set to form the backbone of the inaugural Audi Sport TT Cup, the competition-spec sports coupe is closely based on the production version packs the same 2.0-liter turbo four and six-speed dual-clutch transmission as the road-going TTS, delivering the same 310 horsepower, but with a push-to-pass boost of an extra 30 hp.
It's also got an active differential, and while the full specifications have not yet been revealed, it's clear that Audi has also outfitted the TT racer with more aggressive aero, track-spec rolling stock and a stripped-out cockpit (complete with the Audi PS1 Safety Seat from the R8 LMS Ultra) to get weight down to from 2,700 pounds in stock production form to 2,480.

A luxury crossover for people who like to drive | 2018 Audi Q5 First Drive

1.6 million. That's how many Q5s Audi has sold since the model's 2008 debut, making the agreeable but stylistically neutral sport-ute the best-selling premium SUV on the planet. One in four Audis sold is a Q5, which is a big part of why the German carmaker made significant improvements intended to ensure the 2018 Audi Q5 is another success story. For starters, the Q5 has swollen in size. Not by much – we're talking 1.3 inches in length, half an inch in wheelbase, and incrementally more height – but enough to boost rear legroom by 0.39 inch and add 0.31 inch to rear headroom. If you're worried that curb weight has bloated in direct proportion to the larger footprint, fear not: The 2018 model is actually up to 198 pounds lighter than the model it replaces, thanks to a carefully modulated blend of high tensile steels and aluminum in the chassis, and incremental weight savings throughout. Two turbocharged engines are available: the Q5's 2.0-liter TFSI engine producing 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque (doing the 0-to-62-mph sprint in 6.4 seconds), and the SQ5's 3.0-liter TFSI mill that turns 354 hp and 369 lb-ft (capable of whisking it to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds). The 2.0-liter meets a new seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission, while the beefier 3.0-liter gets a conventional eight-speed torque-converter-equipped gearbox to handle the higher torque. Audi's new Quattro ultra setup (already seen in the A4 and Q7) offers fully variable torque distribution that helps achieve 20/27 mpg with the 2.0-liter and 18/26 mpg for the 3.0-liter. The system can de-couple the rear axle via an electronic clutch, which improves fuel economy; with 100 percent of torque directed to the front wheels during straight-line driving, the parasitic losses of running power needlessly through the rear differential are avoided, while a second clutch controls front/rear torque distribution. Audi says the ultra setup works proactively, not reactively, using torque vectoring to distribute power and anticipating changes in vehicle dynamics 500 milliseconds before the torque is redistributed. While there are numerous tech updates under the skin, the body itself is very familiar. In person, the Q5's looks are tweaked ever-so-slightly thanks primarily to a curvier, crisper character line that is so sharp, it casts its own shadow under certain lighting conditions. Inside, a Q7-like upgrade gives the cabin a more sophisticated feel.