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VW Group to split brands under four holding companies

The Volkswagen Group is planning a tremendous shift in its internal structure that will decentralize operations by splitting its 12 brands into four different holding companies. Here's the breakdown. Things will be split logically, considering the inter-sharing of parts, platforms, and engines. The Volkswagen brand, Seat, and Skoda make up a passenger vehicle division led by former BMW man Herbert Diess. Audi, which is tightly intertwined with Lamborghini and motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, will be managed by current Audi exec Rupert Stadler. Porsche and Bentley, which are already quite close, will be joined by Bugatti and run by Matthias Mueller. Finally, a commercial vehicles division will include Volkswagen Commercial, Scania, and Man. Former Daimler exec Andreas Renschler will take care of the big vehicles. The massive move, according to Automotive News Europe, is part of an internal VAG effort to move away from the structure established by ousted Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who favored a compact, but highly centralized, management structure to oversee the independent actions of the company's brands. Criticism of Piech's arrangement stemmed from the company's slow responses to changes in the market, ANE reports. The new structure should make for a more efficient, streamlined company that's better able to make crucial decisions. What are your thoughts? Should VAG decentralize, or did Piech have the right idea? Have your say in Comments.

Lamborghini Concept S up for auction in New York

Reach back a decade into your supercar memory banks and you may recall that in 2005, Lamborghini rolled in to the Geneva Motor Show with a dramatic Gallardo speedster concept. That was the Concept S, designed by Luc Donckerwolke long before he shifted over to (and subsequently left) the Bentley design department. It packed all the cutting-edge angular design of the Gallardo coupe that had just debuted the year before, but predated the emergence of the Gallardo Spyder that followed the next. The Concept S featured more radical bodywork that bisected the open cockpit, with a pair of low-profile wind deflectors instead of a single-frame windshield. Sort of like the Aventador J concept from a few years ago, but in a more compact (and relatively more stylistically restrained) form. The original show car wasn't a runner, but it proved such a hit that Lamborghini made a second one – this time fully functional with V10 power – and brought it to Pebble Beach that summer. The static model is still on display at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata, and we took our time ogling it while in town for the opening of the new Trigeneration plant last week, but the runner was sold to a private collector, and now it's set to cross the auction block as part of RM Sotheby's upcoming sale in Manhattan. The auction house expects that it'll fetch between $2.4 and 3 million, and given this particular model's rarity, we don't doubt it'll command every penny, if not more. After all, the Veneno went for more than that, and as scarce as that crazy hypercar was (and remains still), between the coupes and roadsters, Lambo made a baker's dozen of those. In fact, the Concept S stands to set a new record for the highest amount ever paid for a Lamborghini at auction, which according to Sports Car Market was set in 2009 when a Reventon sold online for $2.5 million. The Reventon was a more dramatically styled version of the Murcielago and precursor of the Aventador, of which 21 were made. So just imagine how much collectors might prove willing to spend on the one-of-a-kind Concept S.

Second Lamborghini Revuelto Opera Unica inspired by Sardinian coastline

Not long after debuting its new Revuelto, Lamborghini rolled out a one-off example prepared by the Ad Personam personalization division called the Opera Unica, which is Italian for "unique work." That "purely artistic" exercise of Ad Personam's capabilities, fittingly launched during Miami's Art Basel show, required 435 hours to paint the bodywork and another 220 hours to paint and stitch the interior. Nine months later, a second Revuelto Opera Unica stays closer to Lamborghini's home, being inspired by the coastline of Sardinia and revealed at the island's Hotel Cala di Volpe. The resort lies on the island's Emerald Coast, and while emerald gems run from yellow-green to blue-green, Lamborghini artists emphasized the blue for this Revuelto, using brushes, trowels, spatulas, and more by hand to complete a 475-hour paint job.  CEO Stephan Winkelmann said, "This Opera Unica takes our creativity a step further, demonstrating paint techniques and interior finishes that are reserved for Opera Unica one-offs, presenting a truly unique art-piece reflecting the distinctive seascape and emotions of Italy’s most beautiful island destination." Outside, Nero Bocca paint provides the canvas, complemented by the carbon splitter and sills, and wheels in Shiny Black with Diamond Polished Altanero. From there, a Light Blu Tawaret base blends with an even lighter Blu Cepheus, Blu Okeanos, sometimes to suggest waves, sometimes as a gradient, sometimes with sharp separation following the vehicle lines.  The automaker didn't say how long the craftsmen spent on the interior, only noting that it took 85 hours to make the tool required for the embroidered accents on the seats. Thread colors in Blu Amon, Blu Cepheus, and Bianco Leda are meant to suggest waves and wash against the primary cabin colors of Blu Delphinus and the lighter Blu Amon. Even the start button gets in on the wavy look, a Blu Mira Carbon plaque on the rear bulkhead acting as a signature for the artwork. It's business as usual for the gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, a new 6.5-liter V12 working with three electric motors and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to make 1,001 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque. And as with the last Opera Unica, we're not sure where this one will end up. But now that you've seen (again) what Ad Personam can do, there's no reason you can't commission a V12-powered postcard of your own.