PAUHauto: Baby Porsche is shaping up

Meet the baby Porsche with added spice! Our exclusive images preview a new SUV coupé that’s set to join the firm’s ranks.

Due to be called the Cajun, it slots into the range below the Cayenne and will go head-to-head with the Range Rover Evoque and BMW X4, which we revealed in Issue 1,137.

The Cajun is the first car to be developed under Porsche’s new owner, VW. And as the Cayenne was created alongside the VW Touareg and Audi Q7, so this model will have much in common with Audi’s Q5.

It will be slightly lower and shorter than the Q5, but around 90mm wider, giving an imposing, sporty stance. And it will tip the scales at around 1,700kg.

In a bid to distance the Cajun further from other models in the family, Porsche will offer it only as a three-door initially. Engines will be sourced from Audi, with buyers getting a choice of two petrol units, two diesels and a petrol-electric hybrid.

Kicking off the range will be a pair of four-cylinder variants: a 237bhp 2.0-litre petrol turbo and a 188bhp 2.0-litre TDI. Top-spec cars will get either a 3.0-litre TFSI petrol V6, producing 328bhp, or 3.0 TDI with 237bhp and 550Nm of torque. Flagship Cajuns are expected to cover 0-62mph in less than six seconds.

A six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed PDK twin-clutch auto will be offered, while the four-wheel-drive system is to be biased towards tarmac use, so off-road features will be limited to hill descent control and all-weather tyres. The hybrid model is based on Audi’s forthcoming green Q5, which features a 210bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine mated to a 47bhp electric motor, and gives a zero-emissions range of 1.8 miles.

Although the Cajun is heavily based on the Q5, Porsche will fit unique suspension, damper and braking set-ups. The firm will also recalibrate the stability control for a sportier drive, and offer Porsche Active Stability Management as an extra, to control the new dampers.

PAUHauto: Audi A1 Quattro Revealed!

The S1 Quattro lives again! Audi is set to resurrect the name of its firebreathing world rally champ from the Eighties for a spectacular performance flagship of the A1. And purists needn’t worry – because the newcomer will pack plenty of power, style and, of course, the quattro four-wheel-drive system that made the original such a success.

Audi had considered using the name for the 182bhp 1.4 T version of the A1, revealed at the recent Paris Motor Show. But it backtracked at the last minute, fearing that the model’s two-wheel-drive layout would put off customers loyal to the brand.

Instead, bosses have decided to develop a new S1 alongside the Polo R, which is being readied by VW’s performance division in Germany. The cars will share underpinnings, to keep costs down, while VW may also add the scaled-down four-wheel-drive technology to its rugged CrossPolo and subsidiary Skoda’s Fabia Scout to further increase economies of scale.

But the full, sophisticated version of the quattro system will be reserved for the S1. And the car will continue Audi’s recent push to use innovations from its larger models on smaller products – the S1’s 4WD will have the option of the torque vectoring rear sport differential from the 
S4 and RS5, which promises agile handling.

Despite the fireworks under the bonnet, the S1 won’t look vastly different to the 1.4 TSI. It will get a unique, deeper front bumper, more pronounced wheelarches to fit larger alloys, a gloss black rear diffuser and special badging. Two-tone paint will also be offered.

The high-spec interior boasts sports seats and a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel, plus drilled pedals and carbon fibre trim. The S1 is expected to debut as a concept later next year, before going on sale in 2012, with an anticipated starting price of around £25,000.

PAUHauto: BMW X4 shapes up

Small but packed with style – that’s the new baby brother to the X6, which these official sketches show is on the way. We stumbled across drawings of an ‘X4’ buried within the press material at the launch of the new X3.

Rumours of an aggressive SUV coupé based on the X3 have been circulating for some time, but these images give the clearest idea yet of how BMW’s three-door rival to the Range Rover Evoque will look. We spoke to the man responsible for the sketches, X3 designer Erik Goplen – and he told Auto Express that he would “love to see it made”.

We also cornered Markus Braunsberger, the project manager for the firm’s X models, who said: “There is certainly space in the product line-up for an X4 – but we have to make sure it doesn’t steal sales from

the X3.”

The newcomer is likely to use similar hardware and interior components to the X3, including its 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo engine, which offers 300bhp-plus. According to our sources, the X4 has already gone from drawing board to concept stage, and we could see a show car next year, with a production model in 2013.