With a Veyron Roadster in the wings, Bugatti has seemingly made a huge comeback, and it's all because of VW's bold, money-flushing decision to build it. However, things are stirring up now that Porsche is part of the picture. A few quotes from CAR magazine's December issue, about this heated debate on the future of Bugatti (within the VW Group):
"Porsche plans to use its new-found control over the VW group to halt the rise of Bugatti. That's the stark truth emerging from Wolfsburg, where Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking has told the VW board he wants the Veyron's maker reduced to mere coachbuilder status. The atmosphere at corporate board meetings has changed from constructive to combustible now that Wiedeking and his entourage are putting in regular appearances. In a recent session, the experts reportedly indulged in a heated debate about the future of Bugatti."
"Ferdinand Piech, who bought Bugatti and triggered the Veyron project, was also in the room to hear the outburst."
"Bugatti is indeed in a squeeze. It borrowed time by getting approval for the Veyron Spyder, which will receive a removable roof courtesy of Webasto, but will be restricted to a less sexy 217mph top speed. The model will safeguard production at Bugatti's Molsheim factor for an extra couple of years..."
"The rumoured front-engined, four-door Royale supersaloon is dead in the water, and the proposed £35,000 mid-engined roadster is also on the back burner."
"But if Wiedeking gets his way and the cashflow gets turned off, the only short-term option may be cochabuilt one-offs."
"The option of an £84K front-engined car looks more promising, but it's receiving flak from in-house rivals Porsche, Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini, all of whom think it's too close to their various portfolios (think Panamera, the Continental family, the Gallardo and the new R8)."
"'This is a political issue more than anything else,' claims our main from Wolfsburg...'Above all, Bugatti depends on help from Audi. We're fast approaching crunch time.'"
Will Porsche be able to kill Bugatti, or will Audi save them? Discuss.