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Matthias Muller officially named VW Group CEO

While the vast number of rumors made it seem like a foregone conclusion, Porsche boss Matthias Muller has officially been named Volkswagen Group CEO to replace the recently resigned Martin Winterkorn. His contract runs through the end of February 2020, and until a replacement is found, Muller also gets to hang onto his old job as chairman of Porsche. At the same time, the VW Group Supervisory Board is announcing a massive structural reorganization across the entire company, with the new management model in place by the beginning of 2016. Contrary to previous rumors, Michael Horn remains as President and CEO of VW Group of America. The board wants a greater emphasis on brands and regions going forward, and the scale of this shift can be seen in the US. On November 1, VW Group business in the US, Mexico, and Canada is being combined under the leadership of current Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland. However contrary to previous rumors, Michael Horn remains as President and CEO of VW Group of America. Other brands are also seeing some significant changes mechanically. Porsche, Bentley, and Bugatti now fall under the Group's "sportscar and mid-engine toolkit." This means that the brands will start sharing standardized technical parts. A Chief Technical Officer across all of the company's brands will also start working toward future innovations. The new brand-centric view means the end of a group-wide production department. "Going forward, the brands and regions will also have greater independence with regard to production. So it follows that they should also hold the responsibility for these activities," Berthold Huber, interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said in the announcement. In a statement with the press release about his promotion, Muller promised to turn the company around after such an international crisis. He said: "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation. Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry." Matthias Muller appointed CEO of the Volkswagen Group Muller remains Chairman of Porsche AG until a successor has been found Matthias Muller (62) has been appointed CEO of Volkswagen AG with immediate effect.

Bentley introduces Bentayga First Edition at VIP event in LA

The first customers to place their orders for the new Bentley Bentayga will get a special First Edition model. Each is outfitted with unique trim inside and out, and comes with a special wristwatch. Bentley just unveiled the new Bentayga First Edition at a special VIP event ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show opening this week. The Bentley Bentayga First Edition features 22-inch two-tone wheels, special Union Jack badging, and illuminated treadplates. Inside it benefits from unique diamond quilted leather, embroidered seats, contrast stitching, and ambient lighting. Along with those specifications, this initial run will be limited to just ten exterior colors. Those fortunate first customers will also get their choice between one of three timepieces crafted by Breitling: one with a multifunction electronic movement, another with an integrated emergency transmitter, and a third automatic designed for women. All told, only 608 examples of the First Edition will be offered. The quantity is a reference to the metric output from the 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine, which produces 600 horsepower – or 608 ps. That's enough to rocket the luxury off-roader to 60 in 4.0 seconds flat and on to a top speed of 187 mph, making this the fastest and most powerful SUV currently on the market. Related Video: BENTLEY DEBUTS BENTAYGA FIRST EDITION AT EXCLUSIVE VIP CUSTOMER EVENT - First 608 Bentaygas to be exclusively designed and highly equipped - Bentayga is the most powerful, most luxurious, most exclusive and fastest SUV in the world - Limited edition celebrates the creation of an all-new luxury SUV market segment - Each owner to receive one of three special-edition Breitling chronographs (Los Angeles/Crewe, 16 November 2015) Bentley Motors is debuting the Bentayga First Edition to a select group of VIP customers tonight at the iconic Sunset Marquis Hotel, Los Angeles. The exclusive limited edition of the most powerful SUV in production is restricted to just 608 cars globally. The eye-catching specification with exclusive details and unique components demonstrates the Bentayga's abilities to the fullest. The First Edition's unique design includes Union Jack badging, illuminated treadplates and 22" black painted and polished wheels. Just ten exterior colours are offered, highlighting the exclusivity of the model.

Bentley designers show off how custom the custom coachbuilt Bentley Mulliner Bacalar can be

One of the draws of the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, besides its gorgeous two-seat roadster style, is that it's a unique custom coachbuilt car. The company touts the fact that not a single piece of the exterior is shared with another Bentley. It will always be particularly rare, too, since only 12 will be built. But the unique, custom nature of the car extends beyond that to giving customers nearly free rein with interior components and colors. To show this off, Bentley designers created six gorgeous example models that have us wishing the company would make a few more than 12 Bacalars. Speaking broadly, customers will get to choose unique exterior paint, but the interior is perhaps the most interesting, as choices will include bespoke fabrics, piping, stitching and dash materials. The first of these shown in the gallery is one of our favorites, named Clerkenwell. It features two shades of green leather, and some contrasting green tweed fabric on the seats and the dash, and it's matched with huge swaths of a light wood veneer that stretches from the dash to the doors. The Greenwich interior that follows is also eye-catching with its oxblood leather, gray tweed, and two kinds of 5,000-year-old Riverwood veneer, part of it left as open pore, and the other part given a gloss finish. The other trims in order of appearance are Fulton, Menlo, Brickell, and Randwick. These show additional variations on leather color, and some of them swap the wood veneer for carbon fiber, or the tweed for Alcantara. And of course, all six of these cars get their own corresponding paint colors. Let us know in the comments which ones you like the best, and here's hoping Bacalar buyers get really creative with their cars. Related Video: