Industry Report: Turmoil in Wolfsburg as Volkswagen's C1 Midsize Luxury Car Delayed

Here's where things start to get messy: Volkswagen wants to build the C1 on a rear-wheel drive platform, something completely

Talking about the next-generation Phaeton, the VW CEO stated, "It will definitely not be a normal saloon". (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

different than the brand has ever attempted. Initial word that the C1 would ride on the new A6 chassis has being scrapped now that Maserati has become a joint-venture partner for the C1. This news isn't being taken to very lightly by the folks at Ingolstadt, however, as it was originally Audi that would give the secrets behind its ASF aluminum space frame, Quattro all-wheel drive and six-speed automatic gearbox in return for Maserati's performance know-how in chassis development.

Pischetsrieder is pushing for the link between the C1 and the Italian firm to get hold of the Quattroporte's sophisticated chassis and advanced rear-mounted transaxle technology. In a recent issue of British magazine CAR, the VW chair said, "The transaxle principle [ensures] a 47 to 53 percent front-to-rear weight distribution, which is crucial for what I consider to be best-in-class driving dynamics, by quite a long distance." This report spells out the use of a shortened version of the Quattroporte's chassis for the C1.

If this follows through, Volkswagen will hold the technology behind the performance-oriented chassis instead of Audi, which as it seems will benefit from very little. To add insult to injury, the C1 could easily be a better performing vehicle than Audi's own A6, as well as provide the underpinnings to the next

The C1 could easily be a better performing vehicle than Audi's own A6. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

generation Phaeton that goes head to head with the A8. It's easy to see how Audi executives' blood could be boiling.

But the problems don't end here. Volkswagen has a notorious track record for incurring extremely high cost overruns, and the C1 is experiencing its own financial difficulties. For instance, the German automaker wants to fit its sublime twin-clutch DSG gearbox to the C1, but to make this a possibility a substantial amount of engineering work must be done to both the chassis and the transmission in order to install it at the rear end of the vehicle. Volkswagen is also developing an air suspension system, which it believes is crucial in combining a supple ride with top-tier handling.