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VW Taigun Compact SUV heading for production

It was a good-looking and appealing effort from VW to tap in to the very compact SUV market, with a real family look (a Tiguan on a boil wash), peppy little 3-cylinder 1.0 litre engine delivering 108bhp and a 0-62mph of 9.2 seconds (with 60mpg economy) and enough room to carry stuff and people thanks to an extra 50mm in the wheelbase compared to the Up! Now it looks like the Taigun is heading for production after VW’s Chief designer, Klaus Bishoff, told Autoexpress that he deeply believed the Taigun would be heading for VW showrooms very soon, and could be sold in the UK and Europe as well as in emerging markets. So you can add the Taigun to the list of VW’s SUV offerings, and with new versions of the Tiguan and Touareg (perhaps based on the CrossBlue Concept) and a Polo based SUV on the way too, it looks like VW are covering all the bases.

Porsche to share platforms

The sharing of Porsche platforms could see the Benley Conti and Panamera using the same underpinnings. Porsche boss Michael Macht has revealed that now Porsche are effectively a VW company the sharing of platforms is not just viable but essential. And the man has a point.

Ford begins building 1.0 Ecoboost, a microsized 3cyl

Ford chief exec Alan Mulally was in Essex today to launch the first 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine, which was developed by powertrain engineers at Dunton and Dagenham. The new 999cc triple will be built at Cologne in a new ￡110m production line – and will first be seen in the new Ford Focus in 2012. How powerful is Ford's new 1.0 Ecoboost?