This could share its innards...
Porsche is to develop the basic platforms for the VW Group's future high-end sports cars, after it won out in an internal struggle with Group bedfellows Audi.
The plan, says a report on German industry site Automobilwoche, is for Porsche to provide a standard modular platform called MSB.
The MSB will put its engine over the front axle, and will be able to accommodate either longitudinal or transverse motor installations.
The MSB, as it's called, will be put into use for the next versions of the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera, and a future Bentley.
Ultimately, the flexibility of the planned platform should mean that it could filter throughout the VW empire.
The resultant slash in development times and costs is a "key competitive advantage" of VW's brand portfolio, says VW boss Martin Winterkorn, and should put it "years ahead of its competitors". For which, read BMW and Daimler...
Quite what old WO Bentley would think of his precious cars sharing their innards with a VW Beetle, we couldn't possibly comment - though we suspect there may be quite a bit of rotational grave activity going on somewhere...
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)