2012 Bugatti Veyron on 2040-cars

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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.

Completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe to make debut at Quail Motorsports Gathering

If you're one of the Autoblog faithful you might remember our story on the Bugatti Type 64 Coupe chassis on display at the Mullin Automotive Museum, one of just three built by the French carmaker before the death of Jean Bugatti. At the time, we told you the museum had plans to finalize the construction of the car with custom coachwork - only one example received bodywork from the factory - and now that time has finally come to unveil the finished product. Today it was announced that a "virtually completed" car will make its debut later this month at the Quail Motorsports Gathering in Monterey.
"We've dedicated much of our efforts at the Museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale," said Peter Mullin, Chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. "I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti's beloved final masterpiece."
We'll have live photos of the completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe as part of our extensive Monterey coverage next week. Want to see the car in person for yourself? The museum says it will have also have the car on display at their facility in Oxnard, CA later this year.

Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo brings racing past into the future

Bugatti is bringing a racing-inspired coupe to the Frankfurt Motor Show called the Vision Gran Turismo. It's the latest in a long series of concepts for the PlayStation game, but unlike many of them, this one is real and will be on display in Frankfurt later this month. The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo's shape is clearly a play on the swoopy look of the Veyron, but it's heavily modified to be a superstar on the track. The front end gets an angry look with eight LED headlights recessed intro the grille. The small fin in the center carries through the design to eventually grow much larger at the back. Massive ducts in the roof feed cool air to the engine, and four exhaust pipes poke menacingly out the rear. The two-tone blue color is meant to harken back to the brand's winner at the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans. The interior mixes a racecar aesthetic with Bugatti's high-end upholstery. "This is for the fans: Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo" – Show car coming to Frankfurt Motor Show as world premiere Bugatti releases the first design renderings of the virtual project for PlayStation® video racing franchise Gran Turismo® The car's design celebrates Bugatti's racing history and is based on state- of-the-art motor sport technology A tribute to the Bugatti victories in Le Mans in 1937 and 1939 Molsheim, 2 September 2015. Bugatti fans, petrol heads and gamers have reason to look forward to the 66th International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt. Specifically for the motor show, Bugatti has transformed a virtual project into tangible reality. For the French super sports car brand will be presenting its virtual concept Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo, which it developed in cooperation with Polyphony Digital Inc., creator of the Gran Turismo video game franchise, as a real show car. Now Bugatti has published the first digital renderings of the car. The design of the virtual race car is celebrating Bugatti's racing history and is based on state-of-the-art motor sport technology. The project is the brand's tribute to its great racing tradition of the 1920s and 1930s and its victories in Le Mans 24-hour races. "The Bugatti design team normally works only for the exclusive and very distinguished circle of the brand's customers. Now Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo has given us the opportunity, for the first time, to do something special for our fans as well," explained Achim Anscheidt, the head of Bugatti Design.