Report: Audi Sport Boss Winkelmann to Head Bugatti

Volkswagen AG plans to make Stephan Winkelmann, who currently heads the company’s Audi Sport operation, CEO of its Bugatti supercar division, according to Autocar.

The British enthusiast magazine, which cites no sources, says Winkelmann will replace Wolfgang Durheimer at Bugatti early next year. The report adds that Durheimer will continue to head VW’s Bentley unit through the end of his contract (mid-2019), at which time Winkelmann also may take over that job.

Winkelmann, 52, was named CEO of Audi’s Quattro performance unit in March 2016 (the group was renamed Audi Sport last December). Michael-Julius Renz, who has been president of Audi's China sales division since January 2015, will succeed Winkelmann at Audi Sport, according to the report.

Winkelmann’s initial priorities at Bugatti will include the development and introduction of the Grand Sport and Super Sport variants of the Chiron, Autocar says.

Before joining Audi Winkelmann spent 10 years at VW’s Lamborghini unit, most recently serving as CEO. He also worked for Fiat. At Lamborghini, the native Italian helped double the brand’s sales and oversaw the launch of the Aventador and Huracan supercars. At Audi Sport, Winkelmann launched the R8 Spyder and RS5 coupe, and led the development of the next R8 and RS4 Avant models.

Durheimer's reportedly wanted to retire at the end of this year but was convinced to stay until at least the launch of the convertible version of the Continental GT, Autocar says. Durheimer headed Bentley and Bugatti from 2010 to 2012, then returned in mid-2014 after a brief stint as the head of Audi’s research and development operations.