The Volkswagen Group hosted its 17th Group Night prior to the start of Paris Motor Show 2014 here in Paris! The night had ‘Les Images des Marques’ as theme and hosted a large number of dealers, media and VIPs at tonight’s event.
The Paris Volkswagen Group Night took place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles that also serves as location for the Paris Motor Show that kicks off in a few hours. For the occasion the Porte de Versailles Expo was turned into a multi-story event hall with the Le Mans winning Audi and Porsche 919 Hybrid Le Mans car. One by one the different brands showed their latest creations by driving them up to the stage.
First up was Audi with the new Audi TT Roadster and TTS Roadster that celebrates its world debut here in Paris. Like its coupe brother the TT Roadster features Audi’s new Virtual Cockpit. Audi presented another TT-based car in Paris with the Audi TT Sportback Concept, a four door Sportback with the looks of the new Audi TT. After Audi, its sister company Ducati was up next and presented a new sports motorcycle.
Bentley came to Paris with the new Bentley Mulsanne Speed, the company’s flagship limousine is now available in the most powerful form ever. With the Speed package the Mulsanne now delivers 530hp from its 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and a overwhelming 1,100 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes only 4.9 seconds and the top speed has been increased to 305 km/h. Styling wise the Mulsanne received various Speed-only features inside and out.
Next up was Volkswagen Company Cars with a showcase of classic Volkswagen Transporters followed by the new camping Volkswagen Transporter California Edition and the Volkswagen Tristar, a Transporter based pickup truck. The Spanish VW company Seat showed a new Seat combi.
Bugatti brought their latest of six legends to Paris. The Ettore Bugatti Legend Edition of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse was first unveiled at Pebble Beach in August and marks the nearing end of the Bugatti Veyron era.
Highlight of the Volkswagen Group Night in Paris this year was the Lamborghini Asterion. A 910hp plug-in hybrid that entered the stage in complete silence. The official name for this new two seater from Sant Agatha Bolognese is Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4.
Porsche’s focus was on the next-generation mobility with the company’s hybrid cars and the S E-Hybrids in particular. The Porsche 918 Spyder and Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid drove on stage first to warm the crowds to the latest addition to Porsche’s plug-in hybrid line-up: The Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid. A long name for a plug-in hybrid version of the facelifted Porsche Cayenne which will also be shown in its other model variants here in Paris.
Volkswagen launched a new and exciting concept in Paris with the Volkswagen XL Sport. The 197 bhp XL Sport uses the same lightweight carbon-fibre structure of the XL1 on which it is based, but looks a lot more exciting courtesy of of the addition of a number of aggressive sporty parts including and electrically powered rear wing and a host of ducts and vents. The power comes courtesy of another 2-cylinder engine, this time from a “Superquadro” Ducati 1199 Superleggera super bike and it will rev to a dizzying 11,000-rpm.
The show ended with the donation of 200,000 euro to the Cinema for Peace foundation and Mr Winterkorn’s speech about Volkswagen’s presence in Paris and the outlook for the group as a whole. At the end all cars returned to the stage and traditionally the crowds welcomed the invitation to check them out up close with large enthusiasm.
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