Bugatti Nabs Audi Sport and Lamborghini’s Former CEO

Stephan Winkelmann is doing the Volkswagen Group shuffle. Having moved from Lamborghini to Audi Sport, he’s now on the move again.

This time, he’s headed over to France to head up fastest-car-in-the-world-makers, Bugatti. Winkelmann will take over as President of Bugatti Automobile S.A.S. from Wolfgang Dürheimer, who is retiring after five years on the job.

“I accept Wolfgang Dürheimer’s wish to retire,” said Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management at the VW Group. “I sincerely thank him for the outstanding work he has done in various positions in the Volkswagen Group over 18 years. At Bugatti he successfully completed the era of the Veyron and, with the development of the Chiron, he has opened an exciting new chapter for the brand.”

Durheimer’s departure also leaves a spot open at Bentley, where he held the position of CEO. That job will be taken over by Adrian Hallmark, formerly of Jaguar–Land Rover.

SEE ALSO: Audi Sport CEO Hints at Rear-Wheel-Drive Cars in the Future

Winkelmann, meanwhile, was only at Audi Sport for a little over a year, but in that time he accomplished a lot. When he came to the brand, it was still known as Quattro GmbH. He also ushered in an era of greater focus on the world market at the in-house Audi tuner, pushing for more hot models designed alongside their regular Audi counterparts.

“With Stephan Winkelmann, a proven expert in sports cars and the luxury sector is coming to Bugatti,“ said Müller. “I am convinced that Stephan Winkelmann will use his many years of experience in these fields as well as his sense of dealing with an exclusive clientele and his deep understanding for brands to bring new momentum to Bugatti’s further development and to lead this special brand into a sustainable future.”

Back at Audi Sport, the current president of Audi China’s sales division will reportedly take over from the exiting Winkelmann. Michael-Julius Renz is responsible for sales in Audi’s biggest single market and will lead Audi Sport into an era with a broader range of models possibly leading to an eventual hypercar.