According to autocar, the German group is now deciding whether a steel or an aluminum body structure will be used for the new sports car. The company will use production feasibility studies to determine which solution is the best: the first one offers low production costs but comes with an increased weight, while the second tips the scales much lower but is more expensive.
“The reaction to the e-tron concept has been overwhelming,” a VW Group insider told the aforementioned source. "We’re weighing up all of the options and possibilities. There’s no real time pressure because we’re not replacing an existing model but establishing a new one.”
The VW Group will use its traditional strategy of developing multiple vehicles based on the new rear wheel drive platform: Audi will build an R4, VW will create a series vehicle based on the Bluemotion concept. In addition to that, Porsche is currently deciding whether it will use the platform to give birth to a new entry level model for its range.
"Scale is important to a project like this,” a VW Group source told autocar. “But with three different car makers working to a common goal, the chances [of the vehicle getting the green light] look good.”
We probably won’t have to wait very long until the first incarnation of the new VW Group sports car comes to life, as earlier this year an Audi North America executive said that it will hit the market by fall 2011.
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