In defiance of a largely stagnant economy, Audi is ramping up production of its A8 flagship sedan in anticipation of steady demand for luxury cars, particularly in China.

Albrect Reimold, who runs Audi’s second largest assembly plant in Nerkarsulm, in Southwestern Germany, which builds the car, along with A7 Sportback and R8 recently stated “we’re extremely busy and have reason to believe this trend will continue for some time.”

The plant has been hiring staff and Reimold expects output to jump by some 21 percent during 2011, which would result in a record production total of some 260,000 cars for the year.

In similar moves, Audi’s chief rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also increasing production and are even building new factories, despite the debt crisis and economic uncertainty that continues to plague much of Europe. BMW says it predicts global vehicle sales of some 1.6 million for 2011 (up from original estimates of some 1.5 million), while Mercedes says demand for M-B and Smart models should outstrip 2010 totals, which were some 1.35 million units.

Nevertheless, despite bucking the current economic trends, there are some industry analysts who feel that this apparent growth from the big three German luxury car makers probably won’t sustain itself over the longer term.

Marcus Kappler, deputy head of economic analysis at the ZEW Center for Economic Research in Manheim, Germany, believes that the automakers won’t be able to ‘de-couple’ themselves from an economy that’s clearly normalizing.

His sentiments are echoed by Henner Lehne, a Frankfurt based analyst with research firm IHS Automotive, who believes that economic realities will probably hit the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes next year. “Customers are becoming more cautious,” he says. “Big-ticket items sell less well in difficult times.”  However, he did say that even in such circumstances, luxury buyers still tend to have more money to spend, therefore an economic slowdown might not hit high-end carmakers as hard as those catering to the mass market.

It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.

GALLERY: 2011 Audi A8

[Source: Automotive News]

Amid all the historic autos on display at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Concept Lawn is a look at modern works of vehicular art – not all of them concepts either.

Vehicles on display at this year’s event included the the Infiniti Etheria concept, the SSC Tuatara concept and the Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept. The SSC car represents the next generation of the Ultimate Aero and will look to take back the title of the world’s fastest production car from Bugatti. As for the Lotus, it’s essentially a look at a possible street-legal track machine, merging the Evora road car and the GTE Le Mans race car together. Yet another concept was the Lexus LF-Gh – a design study that lead to the Pebble Beach reveal of the new 2013 Lexus GS350.

Other highlights included a rolling chassis of the new Lamborghini Aventador, as well as the Jaguar C-X75 concept. See all these, and even more in the video after the jump:

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The Williams Formula 1 team has a long and somewhat checkered history at the pinnacle of motor sports, and like some of its competitors, have delved into the business of sports cars. Williams was full at hand with the development of the Renault Clio Williams from the early to mid ’90s, and had even developed a concept van called the Renault Espace F1, which was a minivan with a Renault engine taken from an F1 race car.

While on the motor sport side, Williams is still doing business with Renault (with whom they have just signed on with again for the 2012 season), however it is also working with Jaguar on a very special road car.

The car in question is the C-X75 supercar that Jaguar has decided to put into production. This hybrid supercar will use kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) similar to the ones used in Formula 1 racers, and Williams is responsible for perfecting this technology for use in this super Jaguar.

Williams chairman Adam Parr wants to take thing even further, saying; “We would like to become the competition and sporting side of Jaguar.” In other words, Williams could become the AMG of Jaguar road cars.

Williams has been on hand with the C-X75 from the very beginning. Parr said; “When the C-X75 was first envisaged it was powered by two turbines manufactured by Bladed Jets, which is part owned by Jaguar owner Tata Motors. But we have concentrated on adopting a path that will make the C-X75 the cleanest and more environmentally friendly supercar of all time. “So at the moment we are concentrating on a downsized internal combustion engine combined with some pretty amazing kinetic energy recovery systems.”

This partnership could lead to this technology trickling down to more Jaguar road cars, and could also spawn the return of Jaguar in competitive racing.

Time will tell what more this partnership will bring. For now, expect to see the production C-X75 to hit the showrooms in about two-years time.

GALLERY: Jaguar C-X75

[Source: Autocar]

When it comes to introducing your kids to your love of all things Porsche, you might as well start them young. And now, you can push your little ones to play dates in the Porsche baby stroller.

Designed by Dawid Dawod, the Porsche baby stroller (otherwise known as the Porsche Design P’4911) is the newest must-have mode of transportation for affluent droolers and shakers. Made from carbon fiber and aluminum, and sporting leather and futuristic-looking ball-bearing wheels, this stroller is a luxe ride for Porsche lovers who can’t walk. Parents can take it everywhere with them, as it’s foldable and can be fit into any compact Porsche – which means you don’t have to trade in your Porsche 911 for a minivan.  And the Porsche baby stroller isn’t just about looks – it also boasts a host of safety features, such as a front safety belt, to keep little ones buckled up.

Subaru has announced its name for the joint sports car project developed with Toyota, dubbing the rear-drive coupe the BRZ.

The news comes in a release by the Japanese automaker, announcing it will show a second rendition of the Boxer Sports Car Architecture, cumbersomely named “Subaru BRZ Prologue – Boxer Sports Car Architecture II” at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The BRZ name stands for “Boxer engine”, “Rear-wheel drive” and “Zenith”. Subaru has also created a teaser webpage for the car which can be viewed here.

Discuss this story at SubaruBRZForum.com and get more Scion FR-S and Toyota FT-86 news at FR-SForum.com

Porsche has just revealed official photos and full specifications on the all-new seventh-generation 911, confirming that it will in fact come with a world’s first 7-speed manual transmission. That add-on is, however, just one small aspect of this entirely new model, which grows in size, while adding performance and efficiency, not to mention a more luxurious cabin.

Starting under the hood, the base Carrera gets a new 3.4-liter flat-six engine with 350-hp, while the Carrera S is powered by a 3.8-liter version with 400-hp (up 15-hp). With a PDK 7-speed dual-clutch transmission the Carrera S can hit 60-mph in just 4.1 seconds, dropping that time to 3.9 seconds with an optional Sport Chrono Package. Carrera models are tested at 4.4 seconds, or 4.2 seconds with the Sport Chrono Package.

Thanks to a weight reduction of 100 lbs, improved aerodynamics, as well as fuel saving technologies such as brake energy regeneration, a start/stop function and the ability of the 7-speed PDK transmission to “sail” or coast, Porsche is promising a 16 percent improvement in fuel economy.

Outside the new 911 gets a sleeker appearance thanks to a lowered overall height, not to mention a length that has grown by 3.9-inches. Inside, the 911 seems to have upped the luxury content considerably, with Porsche integrating some of the techniques first seen on the Panamera, while using a design similar to the Carrera GT.

Set to get its official reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September Carrera models will start from $82,100, with the Carrera S priced from $96,400. Cars will arrive in dealers this February.

GALLERY: 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera S

After continued speculation, an excessive number of artist renderings and then leaked photos last week, Ferrari has now officially revealed the 458 Spider with a retractable hard top.

A world’s first for a mid-engine car, the hard top is made of aluminum and fits just in front of the engine compartment without affecting performance or aerodynamics. Ferrari even claims it weighs less than a traditional folding soft top (55 lbs to be exact), and takes just 14 seconds to open or close.

The stunning look of the car is even functional, with the new rear design helping to direct air towards to engine intakes, as well as to the clutch and gearbox oil coolers. In addition, the Spider comes with an electrically-deployable wind screen to reduce turbulence in the cockpit and allow “normal conversation” at speeds of up to 124 mph.

Powering the Spider is the same 562-hp 4.5-liter V8 engine as the coupe, although Ferrari has made adjustments to the suspension setup, throttle mapping and exhaust to deliver an optimized top-down experience.

Ferrari will officially reveal the car on September 13th at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Look for plenty more pictures then.

GALLERY: Ferrari 458 Spider

Watch video of the hard-top in action after the jump:

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Sweden’s debt agency is claiming they have successfully investigated a handful of Saab bank accounts with some success. On Friday, the agency uncovered $796,291 which is enough to cover debts owed to the first four companies waiting for payment.

The debt agency has contacted other banks holding Saab accounts in order to understand exactly where the Swedish automaker stands. The money found only covers a quarter or major debt owed to other companies, with the total amount owed, being much higher. The agency has stated that 23 claims have been posted against Saab, with a total value of nearly $8,000,000. The debt agency is still investigating accounts, but Saab may either be forced to pay off its loans or be pushed toward the court to claim bankruptcy.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

The American Petroleum Institute has reported that total petroleum deliveries fell by 0.5 percent in July, compared to the same month one year ago. This was the first time deliveries have decreased for any month this year. As well, gasoline demand hit a ten-year low for the month of July.

John Felmy, API chief economist, said, “The numbers, though mixed, confirm continuing weakness in the economy. Consumers aren’t spending, and jobless claims have increased, so it isn’t surprising gasoline demand was down and overall demand slipped a bit”. It was also interesting that U.S refinery production of gas decreased for the first time in 2011, down by 2.3 percent from July 2010. However, on a year-to-date basis, gasoline production remains on par to set a record.

The world’s oldest surviving production Bentley was sold through the Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for $962,500.

The 1921 3-liter chassis number 3 was sold 90 years ago to Noel Van Raalete, Bentley’s very first customer, for £1,150. The Bentley was a show-stopper, featuring ‘matching numbers’ with original aluminum coachwork and brass brightwork.

The 3-liter was a very well engineered vehicle that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endureance races in 1924 and 1927.

“Pebble Beach is the ideal venue to showcase Bentley’s old and new,” said Chairman & Chief Executive, Wolfgang Durheimer. “On the same day that Gooding & Co. auctioned the world’s oldest surviving production Bentley, we hosted a private preview of the brand new model. During Monterey week, the enthusiasm for the evolution of the automobile is palpable.”