RUMOUR HAS IT…
SUV. Our source has advised us the model will boast a body kit and the engine will be chipped to generate more power. It will retain all the usual factory warranties.
MORE Q’ING ON THE WAY
Audi has confirmed its new Q4 will go into production in 2019 at its plant in Hungary. With this model, the company says it is entering the segment of compact utility vehicles (CUVs). Featuring a typical coupe-style silhouette, the Audi Q4 will be positioned between the Q3 and Q5. Prior to that, the company will begin production of its Q8 models in 2018 and it has been spotted lapping the Nurburgring.
Not surprisingly the model appears to have been toned down from the concept with the company sticking to a more similar look to that of the Q7. It will retain that sporty coupe profile with Audi technical boss
INCREASED INTELLIGENCE
Mercedes has started to reveal a few pieces of information about its new S-Class, due to be revealed in September. Its new limo will be getting some major enhancements to its intelligent drive technology. The company will bring in active speed limit assist, which maintains the correct speed for the road and evasive steering assistant.
To compete with the BMW 7 Series, the new S will also have the ability to be parked using an app on a cellphone.
ADDITIONAL ASTONS
If you are taken with the new Aston Martin DB11 we tested (read about it on page six) you might be pleased to hear further models are on their way. A Volante (convertible) version is in development, with Aston even using the test mule for some publicity ahead of the model’s launch in more than a year’s time.
The company is keeping quiet though about a far less reserved version of the DB11 in the form of the DB11 S. Sources have told us the S will abandon the civil look of the regular model in favour of a more aggressive front grille and bumper, wider side sills, a large rear wing and a deep race-car inspired rear diffuser.
It is also set to be much
MARCHIONNE MARCHES
Italian news sources are insisting CEO and president Sergio Marchionne will wind down his Ferrari commitments in 2018 before stepping down in 2019.
Marchionne, also CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), confirmed the timetable in 2014, when he insisted he would retire in 2019.
Ferrari is expected to replace Marchionne with the 53-year-old Alfredo Altavilla, a favourite of Exor CEO and FCA chairman, John Elkann. Exor is the Agnelli family holding company that controls Ferrari, CNH Industrial, FCA and The Economist, as well as the Juventus soccer team.
A hard-nosed financial master, Marchionne’s most recent controversy was a public one this week, when he demanded the Formula One team sit down with Kimi Raikkonen for a frank chat about his poor results in this season’s first two races. While Sebastian Vettel won in Australia and was second in China at the weekend, Raikkonen has yet to see a podium, driving to meek fourth and fifth places.
The 64-year-old Marchionne brought FCA back from the financial brink and took over Ferrari from longtime head Luca Cordero di Montezemolo in 2014.