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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.

Bentley seasons the Continental GT and Bentayga with carbon fiber pack

Because Bentley is Bentley, and nothing it offers is "regular," it has a different name for select features available on its vehicles. Rather than calling these options or packages, they are called "specifications." One of the specifications available on the Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible and the Bentayga is called the Styling Specification, and it brings gloss carbon fiber elements to these cars' exteriors.  Both the Bentayga and the Continental GT have numerous Specifications available for extra purchase. The Bentayga is available with a Blackline Specification, All Terrain Specification, City Specification, Event Specification, Smoker's Specification, Sunshine Specification and the Touring Specification. In addition to the Smoker's, City and Touring Specs, the Continental GT also offers the Diamond Knurling Specification, Mood Lighting Specification and Front Seat Comfort Specification. The Styling Specification, though developed to align with the vehicles' aerodynamics, are intended to create a visual impact, as the name suggests. This package uses high-gloss carbon fiber to shape a front bumper splitter, side skirts with metallic Bentley badges, a rear diffuser and the trunk spoiler. The Bentayga is slightly different from the Continental GT package, as it also features a bi-plane tailgate spoiler and rear screen strakes. Further options include carbon fiber front air blades, wing vents and mirror caps. The carbon fiber in the Styling Specification uses a 2x2 twill pattern with matching directional weave across every part. It is also hand-crafted in a way that the carbon fiber is mirrored at the center of the vehicle to create a balanced look that will please perfectionist minds. Bentley says the Bentley badges on the side skirts were created through 3D electroforming, which could generally be described as a more precise version of 3D printing. The badges were specifically designed to "minimize the risk of air bubbles forming in the lacquer overcoat" while introducing a textured look. The Styling Specification can be ordered for a new car or retrofitted on an old car. It will also soon be available on the Bentley Mulsanne. Related Video:

On any given Sunday, there'll be a Bentley racing somewhere

Most of us would regard Bentley more as a luxury marque than a racing one. Sure, it dominated Le Mans in the 1920s with five wins (four of them consecutively), but that was a long time ago. It won again in 2003, but that was an exception – right? Bentley doesn't actually race much anymore, does it? The short answer is: yes, yes it does. The automaker rolled out the Continental GT3 a few years ago, following sister companies Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini into the category. Now you may be scoffing something along the lines of "yeah but it's only GT3," but while you're doing that, Bentley Motorsport is steadily ramping up its racing program. This year we'll be able to see Contis racing in "more than 90 top-level GT races around the world." Count out the off-season that's now drawing to an end as the racing season gears up and you're talking about two races every week. Yeah, that's right: Bentley will, on average, be competing in two races each week somewhere in the world. Those races will be part of series like the Pirelli World Challenge here in America, the Blancpain Endurance Series in Europe, the ADAC GT Masters in Germany, the British GT Championship, and the GT Asia series. So wherever you live, there's bound to be a race coming up where you'll be able to see the Continental GT3 racing towards the finish line. Of course the Bentley Team M-Sport works squad won't be contesting all of those races itself. It has an array of customer and partner teams lined up for series around the world. Instead of fielding, for instance, a works entry in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year, it'll deligate to the Bentley Team Abt Sportsline. But that's just one of the 90 races in which the Continental GT3 will compete this season, and we're looking forward to seeing how it fares in each. Related Video: BENTLEY ANNOUNCES LARGEST RACE PROGRAMME YET - Bentley Motorsport races across the globe in 2016 - Works team adds Blancpain Sprint Series to calendar - Wolfgang Reip becomes latest Bentley Boy 22 March 2016, Crewe – Bentley Motorsport will contest more than 90 top-level GT races around the world in 2016, as both its works and customer team programmes expand. The Bentley Team M-Sport works outfit will now enter the full Blancpain GT Series and welcomes Wolfgang Reip to the Blancpain Endurance Series line-up.