Volkswagen has published a set of teaser images that preview a new concept dubbed Golf GTI Performance. Built by 13 young apprentices in Wolfsburg, Germany, the one-off GTI will be presented to the public later this week at the annual Wörthersee show in Austria.
Volkswagen is keeping full details under wraps for the time being, but it explains the apprentices were tasked with designing a brand new concept from the ground up starting with a bare GTI shell. The teaser images suggest the hatchback gets a two-tone yellow and black paint job, black concept-specific alloy wheels with yellow inserts and a tweaked body kit.

The cockpit gains an upgraded stereo system and new seats, but pictures of the concept’s interior have not been published yet. Similarly, Volkswagen has not revealed whether the apprentices have made significant modifications to the GTI’s 220-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

Stay tuned, Volkswagen will likely introduce the concept online a few hours before it is formally unveiled in Wörthersee. At the event, the Golf GTI Performance concept will share the limelight with the Skoda FUNstar concept – also built by apprentices -, the Audi TT clubsport turbo technology concept and a hot-rodded version of the GTI called Clubsport that celebrates the GTI’s 40th birthday.

Toyota’s Thai division has published a dark teaser image that previews the next-generation Hilux, a rugged Tacoma-sized pickup sold in a long list of global markets.
The teaser image reveals little, but an earlier leak shows the eighth-gen Hilux gets a much more modern-looking design characterized by elongated headlights, a sculpted hood and broad wheel arches. The front end is dominated by a three-slat grille and a set of LED daytime running lights.

Mechanically, the Hilux will gain two new turbodiesel four-cylinder engines that were introduced recently at the 2015 Vienna Motor Symposium. The entry-level mill is a 2.4-liter unit that generates about 160 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. of torque, while buyers after more grunt will be able to order a 2.8-liter four-banger tuned to churn out about 180 horsepower and a stout 332 lb-ft. of torque.

Most models will come standard with a manual transmission, but an automatic will be available at an extra cost on select trim levels. Toyota will offer both rear- and all-wheel drive versions of the Hilux, but final specifications will vary from market to market.

The 2015 Toyota Hilux is tentatively scheduled to debut online on May 21st, and it will go on sale in a number of global markets including Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa before the end of the year. At the time of writing Toyota is not planning on offering the Hilux in the United States.

Tesla Motors has promised to quickly ramp up Model X production once the first units arrive on the market.
The crossover has already been delayed several times; three years have passed since the first concept was revealed to the world. The company now appears to be sticking with a third-quarter delivery promise, after starting the retooling process last summer.

The Model X will be built alongside the Model S on the same line at Tesla’s Fremont factory. The company will be starting crossover production while simultaneously ramping up sedan output to meet growing demand.

It took six months from the first Model S shipments until the factory was producing the car in higher volumes, but CEO Elon Musk wants the Model X to reach the same milestones in just two to three months.

“We’re going to go from a few cars to 1,000 a week pretty fast,” he said during a recent earnings call.

The company reportedly hopes to double total vehicle output in the fourth quarter, after a few hundred Model X crossovers roll off the line as a “captive fleet” to get every bug ironed out ahead of volume production.

Customers with pre-orders will be able to configure their Model X via an online tool beginning in July.

If Lexus had a mulligan to play, it would have launched a three-row crossover instead of the RC sports coupe, the brand’s top United States executive has revealed.
The RC coupe, which has been a decent seller for Lexus, quenched dealers’ thirst for a halo-type vehicle, but Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Corp.’s North American CEO, says a three-row crossover to rival the Mercedes-Benz GL and Audi Q7 would have been a smarter play.

“In hindsight, if I was making this decision 10 years ago, seeing what I see today, the three-row [crossover] probably would have been the better play to come out first,” Lentz told Automotive News.

He continued: “Strategically that’s a more important vehicle to have than necessarily a lower volume, higher priced image product.”

The RC has accounted for 4,258 sales so far this year — beating out the company’s flagship LS sedan — but Toyota estimates that a three-row SUV could have added 35,000 units to the brand’s annual sales count. By that measure Lexus would have sold around 11,500 units of its hypothetical Q7 competitor through the first four months of 2015.

Lentz declined to comment on whether Lexus was currently working on a three-row crossover, but that seems like a distinct possibility. Lexus has two three-row offerings in the GX and LX, but both of those models are truck-based and are not as smooth driving or fuel efficient as car-based utility models like the RX.

Images by Drew Johnson.

Jaguar is reportedly working on a new range-topping XE sedan that will be aimed squarely at the BMW M3/M4.
The company has already confirmed plans to offer an XE 35t variant, powered by a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine with 340 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. The setup is good for a zero-to-60 mph sprint in just under five seconds.

To better keep up with the German rivals, the British automaker is planning to borrow the F-Type V8 S convertible‘s blown 5.0-liter mill that delivers 495 ponies and 460 lb-ft of twist, unnamed sources have told Autocar. It will be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, remapped for more aggressive shifts.

The XE is already more rigid and a few hundred pounds lighter than the F-Type roadster, thanks to extensive use of aluminum. It is unclear if the XE-R will adopt even more lightweight material such as carbon fiber, but it should handily beat the F-Type V8 S’ 4.2-second zero-to-60 mph time even without shedding any extra pounds. For comparison, the M4 hits 60 mph from a standstill in 3.9 seconds with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The latest report claims Jaguar engineers had less trouble installing the F-Type’s V8 in the XE than they faced fitting the same chassis with the company’s new fuel-sipping Ingenium four-cylinder engine. Rumors suggest Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations unit will likely get their hands on the XE-R and upgrade it with the F-Type R coupe’s 550-horsepower V8.

A time-frame for launching the XE-R remains unclear, though sources claim the project could be a lower priority than faster versions of existing models and the upcoming F-Pace crossover.

Photo by Drew Johnson.