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Audi CEO's Dieselgate arrest threatens fragile truce among VW stakeholders

FRANKFURT — The arrest and detention of Audi's chief executive forces Volkswagen Group's competing stakeholders to renegotiate the delicate balance of power that has helped keep Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in office. Volkswagen's directors are discussing how to run Audi, its most profitable division, following the arrest of the brand's long-time boss on Monday as part of Germany's investigations into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal. The supervisory board of Audi, meanwhile, has suspended Stadler and appointed Dutchman Bram Schot as an interim replacement, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Schot joined the Volkswagen Group in 2011 after having worked as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia. He has been Audi's board member for sales and marketing since last September. The discussions risk reigniting tensions among VW's controlling Piech and Porsche families, its powerful labor representatives and its home region of Lower Saxony. VW has insisted the development of illegal software, also known as "defeat devices," installed in millions of cars was the work of low-level employees, and that no management board members were involved. U.S. prosecutors have challenged this by indicting VW's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Stadler's arrest raises further questions. Audi and VW said on Monday that Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. Munich prosecutors detained Stadler to prevent him from obstructing a probe into Audi's emissions cheating, they said on Monday. Stadler is being investigated for suspected fraud and false advertising. Here are the main factors deciding the fate of Audi. Background: Audi's role in Dieselgate Volkswagen Group was plunged into crisis in 2015 after U.S. regulators found Europe's biggest carmaker had equipped cars with software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines. The technique of using software to detect a pollution test procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of emissions filters to mask pollution levels only during tests, was first developed at Audi. "In designing the defeat device, VW engineers borrowed the original concept of the dual-mode, emissions cycle-beating software from Audi," VW said in its plea agreement with U.S. authorities in January 2017, in which the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators.

Bentley unveils Continental GT ice racer

Bentley has unveiled a new special edition of its Continental GT coupe with photos taken high in the Austrian Alps. On Monday, we were shown teasers of a Conti GT swathed in an eye-popping blue done up to look like an all-wheel-drive backcountry snow eater, and now all has been revealed. This particular Continental GT will be running in livery that pays homage to its fraternal twin, which won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2019 and shares the same factory-built, twin-turbocharged W12. The 6.0-liter engine offers 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Bentley says it'll do 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds on the way to a top speed of 207 mph. Bentley says the the car’s three chamber air springs, 48V active anti-roll control system and iron brakes are entrusted with the cool running of the Continental GT on the purpose-built ice track — their pun, not ours.  Going further, a number of clues points toward an off-road-ish variant of the Continental GT. ThereÂ’s the more rugged-looking treatment of the lower front fascia, where the fog lights are now encased in black trim that also lines the wheel arches, and Pirelli tire logos are displayed prominently at each front quarter. ThereÂ’s also a ski rack on the roof, which may also feature front-illuminating LED lamps, and the coupe looks to have been lifted ever so slightly. Junior World Rally Championship driver Catie Munnings will take to the wheel of the Bentley Continental GT at the 2020 GP Ice Race in Zell am See. The FIA European Rally Championship Ladies Trophy winner will be the first woman to race a Bentley in the modern era, the automaker said.  Bentley teased the new racer Monday on twitter: Spotted today in Kitzbuhel, Austria...anyone want to guess what this is? WeÂ’ll reveal all on Tuesday...#Bentley #ContinentalGT pic.twitter.com/u3ltMdw4LI — Bentley Motors Comms (@BentleyComms) January 25, 2020 This is the latest fruit of BentleyÂ’s collaboration with Italian ski-maker Bomber Ski, with whom Bentley recently partnered to offer limited-edition co-branded $2,750 skis and a ski-and-drive experience in March in Telluride, Colorado and Park City, Utah, starting at a cool $17,950. Bomber Ski counts former U.S. skiing phenom and Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller as one of its principals. WeÂ’ve seen the No. 9 on a Bentley before, with the limited-edition Number 9 Edition by Mulliner unveiled last March as part of BentleyÂ’s centennial celebration. The number nods to the No.

Average Bugatti owner has 84 cars, 3 jets, 1 yacht

Between Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti, the Volkswagen Group has no lack of prestige marques under its umbrella. And while some of these marques may produce models that compete against each other, each seems to be profitable enough in its own right to justify its existence. But what about Bentley and Bugatti? Surely these marques cater to the same customers, right?
Not according to their shared CEO. "The clientele between Bentley and Bugatti is remarkably different," said Wolfgang Dürheimer in an interview with Bloomberg. "The Bentley customer on average owns 8 cars. The average Bugatti customer has about 84 cars, 3 jets and 1 yacht."
That may be a slight exaggeration (we'd have expected three yachts and one jet), but it puts things into perspective: Bentleys are for the one percent. Bugattis are for the one percent of that one percent. Which only goes to show why it's taken Bugatti over eight years to sell 450 Veyrons - a number of units it would take Bentley about two weeks to move, albeit at about one tenth the price.