BUGATTI boss resigned!

That's a bad sign for the future of Bugatti...

 

God, Bentley is all Hip Hop Bling these days

What a disgrace

 

It will just die out and come back in another 70 years.

Peter Hatch

 

Why did he resign ? Because the new VW boss doesnt want a cheaper Bugatti ? Or because Bscher doesnt want to sell the Veyron to rappers ?

 

Now THAT was funny!!

 

Well just hope for the best...

 

Just out of curiousity. How many cars have they produced in the last 50 years.




Darrell.

 

139 EB110's and ~80 Veyron's are in public hands. There are probably more as factory paperweights and so forth.

Peter Hatch

 

I don't think that Bugatti really needs anything more than it has right now.

I don't like the Veyron, as I'm sure most of you know. But right now, Bugatti has the image that it is at the forefront of tehnology with it. It is seen as the fastest car in the world (not true because of the Ultima GTR IIRC). It is seen as the most expensive thing to ever be sold (obviously these people have not seen the resale on the old "king", the McLaren F1). Overall people who know little about the car industry will assume that Bugatti is what at the Veyron's introduction. That being the epitome of automotive technology. This place should be held by Bugatti as long as they can manage to hold the title in the eye of the general public. Not tampered with by making a lesser model.

Peter Hatch

 

From Autoblog:
Bugatti chief Resigns
Thomas Bscher wanted to see the Bugatti range expand. He had taken charge of the über-premium brand during the tenure of Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, the former head of the Volkswagen Group. But when Pischetsrieder was replaced by Audi chief Dr. Martin Winterkorn, plans changed.

Evidently failing to realize his goals of broadening the Bugatti range beyond the Veyron, Bscher opted to resign from his post. Taking his place will be a fellow brand manager from VW's de facto premium auto group, Franz-Josef Paefgen, who will reportedly take on the management of Bugatti in addition to Bentley, the Volkswagen subsidiary over which he currently presides. Whether this will be an interim role or a more permanent arrangement remains to be seen, but with the same man controlling both brands, Bugatti isn't prone to pose a threat to Bentley's stature at the top of the corporate luxury hierarchy.

This management shift pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin of any future Bugatti model, whatever shape it might have taken. Porsche AG, a major shareholder in the VW Group that had voiced its opposition to any expansion of the Bugatti brand, just might get its wish.

Quote:
Truth be told, it's really Bugatti's lack of profitability that Porsche is targeting. Porsche remains one of the only sportscar manufacturers that generates profit (copious amounts of it, actually), while Bugatti loses VW money continuously. The development costs of the super-expensive Veyron were to be offset by the application of technology towards future Bugatti vehicles (like a new saloon or four-door coupe), but if Porsche gets its way, a new Bugatti will never see the light of day, with Stuttgart evidently preferring to cut their loses (and a competing supercar maker).


From Motor Authority:
In a surprise move, the head of Bugatti Thomas Bscher has resigned and it’s rumored that he left his post because of the frustration faced under the leadership of Volkswagen AG boss Martin Winterkorn. German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that Bscher was a key backer for the introduction of a second Bugatti model, but when asked about the possibility of a new model, Winterkorn acknowledged that it might be Bscher’s wish, but added “some wishes will stay dreams.”

The head of VW AG’s Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, has said that it was conceivable for Bugatti to launch a second model, telling reporters “if the synergies in the company are used correctly, I can imagine seeing a second model from Bugatti.” However, he also said that Bugatti models in the future must make a return of between 12 and 13% and the priority at the moment is for VW to make money in the luxury segment with its Phaeton sedan.

The focus of the company is now placed on VW with Winterkorn determined to move the brand up market. VW will also concentrate on releasing its new entry-level model positioned below the Fox hatch that’s due for release by 2009 with prices starting below €8,000.

From Winding Road:
SPIEGEL Online (Germany) reports that Bugatti’s CEO Thomas Bscher (pronounced “Bay-share”) resigned this week. Bscher and new VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn disagreed over the direction of the brand’s product portfolio; Bscher wanted to expand the lineup beyond the ultra-fast Veyron, but that’s not in the cards for the short term.

Perhaps this is another touchpoint in the de-Pischetsriedering of the company. Former VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder promoted Bscher heavily, eventually handing him the Bugatti brand to run in 2003. Bscher was known as not only a crafty manager but a certified hot shoe: he finished fifth at Le Mans in 1999 driving the BMW V12 LM.

Now it will be Franz-Josef Paefgen’s role to run both Bentley and Bugatti. It’s unclear whether this is VW’s preferred strategy for the long term or if Paefgen will be the temporary shepherd until a new Bugatti boss can be found ([email protected], for you thrill seekers).

 

I thought Paefgen was behind the idea of Bugatti producing the ultimate 4-door, the 118, since the VW has been such a failure.

 

So Porsche wants to kill Bugatti again ?