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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 Mulliner Bacalar is so bespoke, it's a whole different car

Bentley talks a lot about “bespoke” — the customized elements done at the hands of its Mulliner division — but the newly unveiled Bentley Mulliner Bacalar takes the idea to a new level. This isnÂ’t just a unique paint color or a special upholstery fabric or a fabricated housing for an ownerÂ’s pet ferret. ItÂ’s a completely custom-bodied automobile, one that transforms the Continental GT convertible into a restyled two-seat roofless barchetta, which takes its name from a lake in MexicoÂ’s Yucatan Peninsula. Bentley claims that not a single exterior body panel from the Continental GT remains unchanged on the Bacalar, and the design is said to be inspired by last yearÂ’s EXP 100 GT concept. That show car was a coupe with scissor doors and an electric powertrain. The Bacalar is none of those things. But you can see some rub-off from the EXP 100 GT in the detailing, such as the horizontal lighting elements at the front and the rear. This example wears special Yellow Flame paint that incorporates the ash from burned rice husks as a more environmentally friendly way to create a metallic effect. In the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, the doors and fenders are made from carbon fiber, while the clamshell covering over the rear compartment is aluminum. The body panels feature additional air intakes, a double hump behind the front seats, and more pronounced rear haunches over the 20-mm wider rear track. There is no roof — presumably owners will drive one of their dozens of other cars if rain is predicted. It would be a shame, after all, to let this interior get wet. The BacalarÂ’s cabin has just two seats, with a carved-out luggage hold behind each one that is specially designed to fit custom-matched bags made by Italian luggage maker Shedoni. The reworked center console angles up to meet the dash, which contains BentleyÂ’s Rotating Display and a digital instrument cluster that differs from that of production Bentleys. The seats are upholstered in British wool together with two types of leather, and the wool elements also appear on the console and door panels. The wood trim — in both matte and gloss finishes — is sourced from 5,000-year-old trees harvested from rivers, lakes and peat bogs. The 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W-12 engine is massaged to the tune of 650 horsepower and 667 lb-ft of torque (versus 626 ponies and 664 lb-ft in the Conti GT). The W-12 is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and rear-biased all-wheel drive.

New Bentley interior veneer sourced from American Red Gum trees

Bentley is turning stateside for its newest exclusive wood interior finish, sourcing its first new veneer in five years from American Red Gum trees found in Mississippi wetlands. Bentley calls the new veneer Liquid Amber, a reference to the wood's perfumed scent. The red-hued wood undergoes a weeks-long natural smoking process to deepen its brown luster. Afterward, the veneer is then transported to Bentley's wood shop in Crewe, England, where it's examined alongside the six other types of veneers harvested from China to Canada to determine suitability, based on a high-burr density, minimal sapwood and a lack of bark growth or structural defects. Bentley says it rejects between 30 percent and 70 percent of all veneers offered. Raw veneer is then cut to a precise 0.6-millimeter and tested for stability in UV light and consistency from tree to tree. The whole process takes at least 18 months before the veneer is installed in one of Bentley's vehicles, which start at $189,000 for the Flying Spur sedan. Also known as the Sweetgum tree, the American Red Gum is native to lowland areas of the southeastern United States. It was once used commercially for soaps, adhesives and pharmaceuticals but is valued today primarily for use in furniture, cabinetry and interior finishing. Bentley says it harvests the trees only twice a year due to restricted access to the wetlands where it sources the wood. Bentley also announced it has begun using slate and quartzite stone veneers sourced from select quarries in India. They're split from a larger stone piece, cured using fiberglass and a bespoke resin, and shaped and finished by hand by the Mulliner coach building team in Crewe.Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley wood finish Image Credit: Bentley Bentley Luxury bentley flying spur