Audi will take full control of chassis manufacturing. The L140's aluminium spaceframe chassis has been designed by Audi and it will be built at the Audi Aluminium Centre at Neckarsulm in Germany. The completed chassis' will be transferred to coachbuilder Krupp Drauz, who will manufacture and assemble the aluminum body panel sections. 

The complete body will then be returned back to the Audi Aluminium Centre, where corrosion protection will be applied before final body painting is undertaken. The painted bodies will then be shipped to Sant'Agata for final assembly.

Audi expect to see 800 L140 coupes built next year, that figure then rising to 1,300 in 2004, before full capacity is reached in 2005. The 1,400-kg L140 is expected to cost around €160,000 and Lamborghini claim an overall performance "more than 10%" better than the Ferrari 360 Modena. Powered by a rear mounted all new 5-litre V10 engine producing in excess of 500bhp, the L140 will feature a six-speed manual gearbox, permanent 4x4 and major use of an electronically-controlled chassis stability set-up.

With the debut of the Diablo-replacing Murcielargo late last year, and the rolling out of the L140, Audi will have completed a €130 million inverstment programme undertaken since they bought the struggling Italian sportscar manufacturer in 1998. Audi expects Lamborghini to break even next year, with a return to profits in 2004.

The deal is of interest because GM own 20% of Suzuki as well as 20% of Fiat and it will be the first time the two companies will have worked together. It is believed that Fiat, who currently have no 4x4 models in their car range, are talking to Suzuki, who have a long established record in the small offroad sector, about using parts and technical knowledge to build Fiat's first small 'fun' 4x4 offroader, possibly as soon as 2006.

Five factories will close down during the period. The new Stilo, which has proved unpopular with the car buying public, will see its line come to a halt.

In an attempt to help Fiat, the Italian government has announced a three year extension to the policy of giving tax breaks to car owners trading in old polluting models for small new eco-friendly ones. Fiat will also extend its 0% finance scheme on a range of smaller low-emissions vehicles.

This follows on from a dreadful June when with 51,715 cars sold, Fiats share of the domestic car market slid below 30% for the first time, contributing to an overall shrinkage of the market by 13.4%.

Designed by Italian architects with an emphasis on flair and styling, the building, which will house 130 employees, features major use of transparent materials and will incorporate a large ground level showroom.

The 147 Sprint will have a wheelbase 5cm longer that the saloon it is based on, making it a similar length wheel base to the 156. It is expected to draw on the 156 in virtually all mechanical areas. It will be available initially with a 2.0 JTS engine, a 1.6-litre entry level version is expected and it is rumoured that a 1.8-litre engine is under consideration, an option that the 147 saloon has been heavily criticised for not offering. Alfa will experiment with a GTA version and monitor progress of the 147 GTA saloon, due out later this year, before deciding whether to make a range topping GTA package available. The Coupe will use the saloon's dashboard and draw on other interior styling cues.

In rallying, the new Fiat Punto Abarth Rally and Fiat Stilo Abarth Rally, launched at the end of last year, have claimed class victories in numerous national rally championships already this year. 

The recently introduced Thesis luxury saloon and Phedra MPV are not expected to ever produce a profit, with Thesis sales aimed to be around just 25,000 per year, while the Phedra is hoped to sell 7,000 units.

Boscetti, who was not involved in the planning of these models, is expected to wait and see what happens when these two models hit the market, and along with the new Y, due next year, Lancia's future probably hangs on their success.

Lancia has been an immediate casualty of the cost cutting at Fiat: The Lybra restyling, due April next year is expected to be cancelled, the existing model having to run through to its replacement in September 2005, while the Lancia version of the compact minivan based on the Fiat C-MPV has dropped.

Lancia, currently producing around 130,000 cars per year, mostly for the domestic market,  will continue with its four model lineup for the immediate future: the Y supermini, Lybra lower executive saloon, Thesis luxury saloon and Phedra MPV.

Seperately, German Bank, Commerzbank AG, has joined Mediobanca's consortium to buy 34% of Ferrari, paying €228 million for a 10% stake. However a long line of banks have rejected participation, believing Mediobanca has paid far too much, and that Ferrari's valuation could be as little as half the €2.4 billion valuation put on the deal. This includes Fiat shareholder, Deutsche Bank, who were to be global co-ordination in the original, now cancelled, IPO.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo went on to discuss Ferrari's future plans including the retimetabled IPO and celebrate recent the recent successes of Ferrari and the revival of the Maserati marque.