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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

Giorgetto Giugiaro sells shares in legendary styling house to Audi

Giorgetto Giugiaro undoubtedly stands among the great automotive designers of the 20th century, having penned the original Volkswagen Golf and Delorean DMC-12, among countless others. However, the great stylist is now longer an employee or even an owner of the company that bears his name. According to Automotive News, Giugiaro and his son, Fabrizio, sold their remaining 9.9 percent of Italdesign Giugiaro to Audi on Sunday, June 28, and the two resigned from the business the following day. The news about this just came out, though. The exact reason that the two men left the company hasn't been made entirely clear. According to Automotive News, a statement said that Giorgetto Giugiaro went "to dedicate more time to his personal interests." Italdesign Giugiaro remains open and intends to keep growing, though, the same announcement asserts. After stints at Bertone and Ghia, Giugiaro founded Italdesign in 1968. He created some masterpieces there, including '70s wedges like Maserati Merak, Lotus Esprit, and much more. The 2000s weren't so kind and 90.1 percent of the company was sold to Volkswagen Group in 2010. Former Audi design boss Wolfgang Egger took over styling duties there in late 2013, but he only lasted for about a year, leaving in late 2014. Since the sale, Italdesign has continued to work, including with the Gea concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and the very mean-looking Parcour in 2013. Giugiaro's designs are still highly prized, as well. On September 5, Bonhams is auctioning the Maserati Boomerang concept by him and expects to get around $4 million for it. The gallery above offers a few more examples of his and Italdesign's concepts for VW Group over the years.

2013 Audi RS5 Cabriolet

The Audi RS5 is a bit of an odd duck in the brand's US lineup. At the moment it is one of only two RS models - the other being the TT RS - atop a pyramid of A and higher-performing S models. It is not, however, the brand's flagship performance model - not even close - that space being occupied by variants of the R8 supercar, specifically the V10 and GT models, and upcoming 560-horsepower RS7.
The RS5 does, however, owe its beating heart to those ten-cylinder R8s, its own 4.2-liter V8 almost identical to those engines save for two fewer cylinders. Outside of the R8, then, the RS5 is the lone bastion of naturally aspirated V8 power in a brand that once happily shoved 4.2-liter V8s under any hood that they would fit. Today, not even the giant Q7 SUV offers a V8. Lastly, the RS5 is not new, except to us, having been on sale in Europe in coupe form the last couple of years.
While Europeans were able to enjoy the hardtop two-door without us, the RS5 Cabriolet is reaching both peoples around the same time: now. We reviewed the RS5 coupe just recently, and having spent some time with the tin-top model myself as well, here is my take on the droptop version of what I consider one of Audi's most interesting models.