As the previous CEO of Lamborghini and current CEO of Audi Sport, it’s fair to say Stephan Winkelmann is a man in demand within the auto industry. When he took the role of CEO at Audi Sport around 18 months ago, the world was expecting big things but now an even bigger shock has arrived after he announced his move to Bugatti.
For those of you in the know, you’ll be aware that Wolfgang Durheimer is the current boss at Bugatti and he won’t actually be leaving the VW family; of course, this family also includes Audi Sport and Lamborghini which has allowed Winkelmann’s movements to be so fluid between the three. In fact, Durheimer has actually been the CEO of Bentley as well as Bugatti in recent years so he will return to this role alone.
For the VW Group, it’s all change and Michael-Julius Renz will be taking over the post at Audi Sport leaving a vacancy in his current role as President of the Chinese Sales Division for Audi. Within the motor industry, we can’t say that reshuffles like this are uncommon but it is surprising considering Winkelmann only started in his role at Audi Sports less than 18 months ago.
Does the Movement Have Meaning?
- So far, there hasn't been too much information released but we do know that Durheimer once noted his interest at leaving Bentley when his contract comes to an end in the middle of 2019. However, he sat down with the guys and girls upstairs and they persuaded him to stay until the Continental GTC Cabrio has been released; so far, the Coupe model has just been announced in this range. Furthermore, we know that this move for Stephan Winkelmann is smart, well-considered, and a little bold.Before leaving Lamborghini, he was actually there for around 11 years so he has more insight than most when it comes to supercar and hypercar models. However, this raises a new question of why Bugatti want Winkelmann when they’ve already suggested there won’t be any more Chiron derivatives. Could this open the door for Chiron Super Sport and Grand Sport models? In all honesty, this seems to be the only natural path that could come of these movements. For the company, the idea is surely alluring and they would certainly see glory as well as profit from the idea.
For now, we don’t know the ins and outs of the reshuffle and exactly what the VW Group has in mind but we do know there is going to be an announcement regarding the movements and transfers very soon!
Tags: Audi, Bugatti, Breaking News