Written by Staff Writer
Bentham Court, London — Gautier Bey has a big challenge ahead of him.
The 43-year-old French national is leading Bugatti under the new leadership of VW AG , a company that is under investigation over its involvement in the “Dieselgate” scandal.
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“You have a task of rebuilding the company,” Bey said. “I am betting on the future of the Bugatti family and the concept car in particular.”
Bugatti Chiron will appeal to consumers. It’s already received over 10,000 pre-orders. AFP / Ian Willms
With Bugatti as its sole emblem, Bey’s task will be to make the French luxury automaker attractive to consumers across the globe.
Born and raised in France, Bey has worked on Audi’s turbocharged petrol engines and powertrains for Volkswagen brands since the 1990s.
Bey became Audi’s first gender equal manager in 2011. Three years later, he was promoted to vice president of engineering, overseeing development of internal combustion engines. He was most recently head of development for electric vehicles and internal combustion engines.
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Bugatti spent just over 10 years in the United States during which time it sold a few hundred cars, said Vice President Francois Klingler.
For example, the La Fayette was the company’s first concept model. It was built and sold in the early 1960s by a private dealer in Atlanta. They also built and sold the Bugatti 12thcadillac to former President Richard Nixon.
So, where does Bey see Bugatti in 20 years?
“Bugatti is different from cars like Audi or Bentley,” he said. “Bugatti is small, it is open. Everything is talked about; it is as open as possible. To me it’s already very big and growing big.”
“I was a central planner of internal combustion engines in Audi,” he added. “I made the electric powertrain for an all-wheel drive system. This is what I did from an engineering point of view.”
“You have a task of rebuilding the company,” he added. “I am betting on the future of the Bugatti family and the concept car in particular.”