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Held since 1982, the annual Wörthersee GTI Treffen saw crowds as large as 200,000 at its peak.The local Wörth municipality in Austria, where the event had been held, announced the permanent end of the gathering earlier this year.VW has officially sponsored the Treffen since 2000 and has now promised to continue the tradition at its headquarters in Wolfsburg.If you are a fan of the Volkswagen GTI in any of its generations, then heaven is a place in Germany. Specifically, the bucket-list trip of any VW hot hatch aficionado is a visit to the near-legendary GTI Treffen, held on the shores of Lake Wörth since 1982. At its peak, hundreds of thousands of GTI and Golf R fans thronged here, snapping photos of wildly customized Golfs and eating far too much Volkswagen currywurst (VW part number 199398500A). However, as might be expected, the locals have grown somewhat weary of the spectacle.From the ArchiveIn a statement that nodded to the economic prosperity brought to the region by past Treffens, the local government nonetheless firmly yanked the plug wires on the world’s biggest GTI festival. Citing the effects of climate change and a need to consider sustainability, an official statement concluded, “The municipality of Maria Wörth will no longer host any conventional major automotive events in the next few years.”uli sonntag|Car and DriverObviously, this was a blow for many a VeeDub enthusiast, and for Volkswagen itself. The Treffen started as a grassroots festival, but VW had long supported its fans. It debuted Wörthersee-specific concept cars like the GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo, a sleek roofless two-seater built to celebrate 15 years of the Gran Turismo racing games. And who could forget the insanity of the GTI W12-650, with its 12-cylinder engine mounted amidships, and a top speed of 201 mph?Car and DriverBut no more. Wörthersee will return to its former charm as a picturesque resort in Bavaria’s lake district.Happily, Volkswagen almost immediately announced that the Treffen would still be held, just relocated to Wolfsburg. The event will be held next year, and VW plans to call the theme “Coming Home.” There will be special highlights, and Volkswagen has promised a few surprises for loyal GTI fans.Really, it’s the best possible outcome for the Treffen. With such huge crowds, it had effectively outgrown its former location. Bringing the festival directly to Wolfsburg feels more fitting, and the year’s break allows Volkswagen more time to plan.The Golf R and GTI still both garner near-perfect scores for their blend of practicality and performance, and their fan base remains huge. If you’ve been putting off your own trek to the Treffen, 2024’s the year. Car and driverCar and driver Lettermark logoContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Currently up for auction at Cars & Classic in the U.K., “The Beast” is a one-off custom car with a 27-liter V-12 engine. Yes, twenty-seven. Not a typo.The Beast’s owner, the late John Dodd, was legendary for his legal battles with Rolls-Royce.At one time, this was officially certified with a Guinness world record as the fastest production car in the world, clocked at 183 mph.In 1972, the most popular car in the U.K. was the Ford Cortina. If Sir or Madam had more sporting intentions, the related Capri offered Mustang-like coupe styling, and an available 2.0-liter engine good for 86 horsepower. Imagine zipping down the M1 motorway in your new Capri, thinking you were cracking on a bit, when this 19-foot-long monstrosity hurtled past in a roar of V-12 thunder. It would be like being back in the Battle of Britain again.Car & Classic AuctionsIn fact, it would be exactly like the soundtrack of the Battle of Britain, because the 1972 Beast is powered by the same Rolls-Royce engine found in the nose of a Spitfire. Its creator, the late John Dodd, died last year at the age of 90. Now his vehicle is being offered for auction on the U.K.-based website Car & Classic.The Spitfire is still considered one of the most elegant piston-engine fighter aircraft to have taken to the air. The Beast is rather a more homely affair, with a hood long enough that you could probably land a Spitfire on it. Or land a 747 on it. Seriously, this thing has a nose bigger than Cyrano de Bergerac’s.Car and DriverCar and DriverUnder that long bonnet is a Rolls-Royce–built Merlin V-12, a naturally aspirated version of the engine found in the Spitfire. The first engine in this car was sourced from a Centurion tank, and the second from a training aircraft. It displaces a jaw-dropping 27 liters and produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 to 800 horsepower at just 2500 rpm.If you think that’s insane, strap in. The Beast first emerged with box-frame construction built by that most dangerous of creatures, a British man with a shed. Paul Jameson built several one-off cars—he once created another Merlin-engined car, this one a convertible with six wheels—and he created the Beast around a war surplus engine he got for basically scrap value. We Car & Classic AuctionsDodd was an automatic transmission specialist, and supplied a three-speed auto with some Jaguar parts. Later, he was surprised to receive a call from Jameson: would Dodd like to buy the rolling chassis? Dodd would, and he set about getting it bodied in fiberglass.The completed Beast was said to have a 55:45 front-to-rear weight balance and excellent handling. This can’t possibly be fully true, as the car is as long as an aircraft carrier, and an undressed Merlin V-12 weighs more than two Chevrolet LS V-8s. A lot of the information about the Beast is more speculation than specification.Car & Classic AuctionsHowever, it did receive a Guinness World Record, and it was certified by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1973 as capable of hitting 183 mph. A Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona of the period was 10 mph slower. Take that, Enzo.While it vaguely resembled a Capri that had been involved in some unfortunate Willy Wonka taffy-puller accident, the Beast was a hodgepodge of parts, and one of them caused a great deal of fuss. It wasn’t the Interceptor windshield or the Reilant Scimitar rear glass; it was Dodd’s insistence on using a Rolls-Royce grille, topped with the Spirit of Ecstasy. His reasoning was: after all, Rolls-Royce built the Merlin V-12. Rolls-Royce executives were Not Amused. Spirit of Ecstasy? More like Spirit of Bad Acid Trip.Things were not improved by Dodd’s impish provocation. He delighted in ringing up Rolls HQ, pretending to be some well-heeled sort who was interested in purchasing an example of the long-nosed coupe that had just passed at a high rate of speed. Rolls-Royce deployed the lawyers.More Conventional FareDodd drove the Beast to every day of the trial, except for once when he showed up with his entire family on horseback. He lost, and the court moved to enact punitive damages. Dodd hopped in the Beast and ran away to Malaga, Spain, where he rebuilt his automatic-transmission business and seemed to have generally had a lovely time in a sunny climate.The Beast lost its Rolls-Royce grille for one with John Dodd’s initials, though it is still titled as a Rolls-Royce (doubtless this would please Dodd immensely). It has just over 10,000 miles on it, which is hardly surprising for a car that would struggle to hit 2 mpg.For one lucky bidder, the Beast represents the peak of British automotive eccentricity. It is just a completely preposterous car, too big, too thirst, and too silly. And yet, it is also extremely funny and built to ridicule the rules by a man who lived to a ripe old age while thumbing his nose at the authorities. John Dodd could have bought himself a Capri. Thank goodness he didn’t. The auction takes place March 9 and will be streamed on the Car & Classic website.Car and driverCar and driver Lettermark logoContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Amazon shoppers who need replacement parts or vehicle accessories now have an easier way to get what they need in the new OEM Automotive Parts Shop.The personalization is integrated with Amazon Garage, which Amazon started in 2006 and has been growing by 20 percent a year since 2020.Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, you can have the part delivered, pick it up, or send it to a local service provider that will be listed on Amazon’s site.Amazon has launched a new OEM Automotive Parts Shop that can share your clicking habits with your local dealer to ensure you get the part you need for your specific vehicle. The new shopping feature lets customers find official OEM parts using filters for most vehicle types, from cars, SUVs, and trucks to ATVs, motorcycles, and scooters. The trick lies in how Amazon now offers hundreds of thousands of parts and accessories in connection with local car dealerships.The new Shop allows far more than letting people sell parts on Amazon and mail them out. Amazon’s new OEM Automotive Parts Shop is like a middleman between someone who needs to find the correct oil filter and that filter sitting on the shelf of a local dealer. Amazon said the new Parts Shop displays “transparent price listings for each item, as well as detailed product and fitment information directly from manufacturers and sellers to ensure they are purchasing the right product.”Amazon said its collaboration with automakers means that selling partners, including dealerships, can now offer discounts to both local and national customers. So, with your 5 percent coupon in hand, Amazon can now ship the filter to your door or to a nearby service provider listed right there on the product page. Other options include in-store, with same-day pickup available in some situations.SHOP AT AMAZON’S OEM PARTS STOREAmazon launched its Garage feature in 2006, allowing customers to enter their vehicle information and filter shopping results by their make and model. Amazon Garage also allows customers to reorder parts and track service recommendations. This personalized functionality encouraged Amazon to work with automakers to integrate their parts supply and local dealers on this updated Shop. “Since 2020, we’ve seen an average 20 percent increase annually in the number of vehicles U.S. customers have saved in the Amazon Garage, showing a clear customer interest in shopping for parts and accessories for their vehicles similar to the way they shop for other consumer products,” Ernie Linsay, Amazon’s director of automotive, told Car and Driver. “This inspired us to collaborate with OEMs to enhance the overall selection available to customers online.”The OEM Shop still needs to be polished. The brand list, for example, doesn’t include some companies, like Tesla and Mini. Tesla isn’t a part of the Amazon deal, but Mini is. In fact, a separate Mini section is currently promoted at the top of the screen, and Mini parts are available under the BMW filter. We feel ya, Mini drivers.Contributing EditorSebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology’s importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.  More

VW’s new Scout-branded trucks and SUVs are scheduled for 2026, and now we know they will be built in the Palmetto State.The $2 billion plant will create an estimated 4000 jobs and will be able to produce 200,000 EVs a year.Currently, VW builds the ID.4 in Chattanooga and has plans to increase EV production there, but the South Carolina plan will be Scout-specific. Volkswagen will build electric vehicles for its upcoming Scout Motors brand in South Carolina, the company announced this week. The EV plant will be VW’s second vehicle production facility in the U.S., but it won’t make anything but Scout models. This content is imported from twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.⚡ New e-car factory for the U.S. 🇺🇸 #Scout Motors plans to produce electric pick-up trucks & rugged SUVs from 2026 in South Carolina 🏭 🚙 $2B investment, 4,000 new jobs & more choices for our U.S. customers. 🎉 Big part of growth program for North America. @SCGOV @henrymcmaster pic.twitter.com/PnjRhWjPWs— Volkswagen Group (@VWGroup) March 3, 2023VW’s board of management has announced that the company will build a new assembly plant for Scout vehicles in Blythewood, South Carolina, at a cost of $2 billion. The plant is expected to begin producing an electric pickup truck and “rugged” SUVs with the Scout name in 2026. The new Scout EV plant will create an estimated 4000 jobs and be able to make over 200,000 vehicles a year when fully operational. These will all be Scout vehicles, not EVs for other VW brands, a VW spokesperson told Automotive News. See Some IDVW currently operates one factory in the U.S., in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company announced last May that it will spend over $7 billion in North America over five years to “boost its product portfolio, regional R&D, and manufacturing capabilities” in the region. Volkswagen started building the ID.4 in Chattanooga in July 2022, with plans to produce 7000 EVs a month. This number should increase throughout 2023. The automaker also started up a battery engineering laboratory in Chattanooga last year and has said it intends to “build up” battery cell production in the U.S.VolkswagenThe new Scout plant fits in with other commitments VW made as part of the $7.1 billion announcement from last May. At that time, VW said it would launch not only the American-assembled ID.4 in 2022 but also the ID. Buzz in 2024 and “new electric SUVs from 2026.” VW also builds EVs in Europe and China and has talked about a new Canadian battery plant. VW took control of the Scout brand in 2021 when it acquired Navistar (which was the successor to International Harvester, which created the original Scout). VW officially revived the brand in 2022. Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh, formerly CEO and president of Volkswagen Group of America, wrote about the plant on LinkedIn and said that “What started in 1960 comes full circle today. Scout is once again reimagining the adventures that an off-road vehicle can deliver – only this time, it’s with an all-electric platform. Today, we are closer than ever to putting an important American icon on the road.”Nowhere in these factory announcements did we learn any details about the vehicles themselves, but Keogh’s words hint at some all-electric outdoor fun is on the way. “Scout has always been the vehicle that takes your family camping and also shows up on the job site every morning,” he wrote. “This is not changing. Scout’s versatility remains intact, and America’s love of driving will be revived.” Contributing EditorSebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology’s importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.  More