The VW Group likes to shuffle its executives among its brands. Maybe that’s Volkswagen’s way of making sure that they don’t become complacent; or perhaps it wants them to transfer their experience to their new post.
Whatever the reason, Woflgang Durheimer, the chairman of both Bentley and Bugatti has moved on to Audi. His replacement is Wolfgang Schreiber, the former Bugatti technical chief and managing director.
While talking to Autocar, Schreiber revealed that the Galibier super-saloon will be delayed: “The Veyron and its derivatives are very focused on the needs of the customers”, he said. “If you switch to a different type of car, it is very necessary to evaluate the needs of the customer. The launch date is still not decided yet.”
The Galibier was first displayed in concept form in 2009 and up until recently, Bugatti sources were suggesting that it was due in 2015. Bugatti’s new boss admits that developing on a 1,000bhp super-saloon has proved to be more challenging than originally anticipated.
“We are still working on the Galibier project”, commented Schreiber, “but I would say it is more difficult to fulfill all the requirements for Bugatti customers than Bentley customers.”
He insisted, though, that the four-door may be late to the market, but it will be made because Bugatti needs to have another model besides the Veyron.
“The four-door is absolutely necessary”, he said. “The hero car, the Veyron, is alone. I think customers would be very pleased if we had a second car, so I support it very much.”
By Andrew Tsaousis
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