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Porsche, Audi team up for tech: autonomy, EVs, hybrids and more

Porsche and Audi have been working on a number of important technologies for future vehicles. The two luxury automakers, both part of the Volkswagen Group, have mostly appeared to guard the space between their brands despite some shared engines and a platform. While their goals may not always overlap – Porsche has shied away from fully autonomous driving, for instance ­– the two brands have decided they could move more quickly into their respective futures by putting their heads together. In that spirit, Audi and Porsche are partnering up for a "shared vehicle architecture strategy of the future." This collaboration will focus on future mobility, including the development electrification, digitization, and autonomous driving technology. And the teams have knowledge and resources to share with one another. Porsche is moving fast with electrification, adding more hybrid systems to its models and preparing to launch the ultra-fast-charging Mission E electric car. Audi has been pursuing autonomous driving, connected vehicle and V2X tech, and Shared Fleet programs. Combining the best and brightest of both companies should help accelerate R&D. Even if one or the other company doesn't put all of the co-developed technologies into its vehicles, they'll both be learning the lessons, and sharing resources should help keep costs in check. "We will cooperate wherever it makes sense," says Porsche Board of Management Chairman Oliver Blume. "But we will also be very careful to maintain the differentiation between our brands. A Porsche is always a Porsche, and that will remain so in the future." Detail are still scarce, but Audi and Porsche will pin down a more a more specific sharing strategy as they develop their plan through 2025. While the cars continue to look and drive differently, expect Porsche and Audi to share more components and digital capabilities moving forward. Related Video:

Audi to keep hiring workers despite VW diesel scandal

Even while Volkswagen contemplates delaying or canceling projects to pay for costs related to the massive diesel emissions scandal, its stablemate Audi is hiring, according to Reuters. Audi certainly isn't immune to the diesel scandal, with around 2.1 million affected vehicles worldwide including 13,000-14,000 in the US, but the scandal so far isn't affecting staffing levels. "We are sticking with plans for strategic growth and are continuing to hire new employees as planned," Audi board member for human resources Thomas Sigi said in a German newspaper, according to Reuters. Sigi even suggested paying a "respectable" bonus to workers next year. Audi has some big projects on the horizon, too. Among them, the company intends to launch a production version of the E-Tron Quattro Concept in 2018, and for performance fans a new TT RS appears to be on the way. The new A4 should be a big contributor to global volume when its worldwide rollout is complete. Rather than allowing the diesel scandal to hurt all of its divisions, the VW Group instead wants to concentrate the fallout (and costs) on the VW brand, according to Reuters. Those expenses could be huge. Volkswagen is budgeting around $7.3 billion just to repair the 11 million emissions-cheating vehicles. Worldwide, maximum estimates put the whole mess at $87 billion. Related Video:

The Audi RS3 shows up at Paris with five cylinders, 400 hp, and a scowl

Last night at the Volkswagen Group Night, almost lost among all the future mobility hoopla about the Volkswagen I.D. autonomous EV concept, Audi parked an RS3 sedan. We have some preliminary information about it – including that it's packing a 2.5-liter TFSI engine, the same five-cylinder powerplant that makes 400 horsepower in the new Audi TT RS we just drove. In the RS3, it'll have the same rating. It'll also have a wider track, because it's surely packing wider and stickier rubber. We also know that it'll have a special Virtual Cockpit gauge display that puts the tachometer in the center, in the tradition of sporty driver-oriented cars. Before you sigh something about the injustice of it not reaching the Americas, like many RS models of the past, great news: this one is almost assuredly coming to the US, according to our best intel. We'll have more details later today after the official press conference, but for now the bottom line is this is both what we expected and also truly exciting. We're in the midst of a real Audi RS boom right now. If you want a taste of what to expect, read our Audi TT RS first drive. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Audi RS3 Sedan: Paris 2016 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Audi RS3 View 18 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Paris Motor Show Audi Performance Sedan 2016 paris motor show