Martin Winterkorn has moved to dispel rumours sweeping through automotive industry financial circles suggesting that Volkswagen was preparing to sell off Bugatti and Lamborghini. The new VW Group boss told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that 'development in the upper segments undertaken by Lamborghini and Bugatti had been advantageous for all the other brands under the German car maker’s control.' Winterkorn said Volkswagen’s engineers had learned a great deal through Bugatti, not least of all in the area of aerodynamics. 'A jumbo jet takes off at 250kmh, whereas a Bugatti remains safely on the ground at 400kmh,' he pointed out, adding the revived French marque had built, as planned, 50 Veyrons last year. The newly-installed Volkswagen Group boss also confirmed Lamborghini had sold 2078 cars in 2006, in what he described as a 'four-fold increase' since the celebrated Italian supercar-maker was purchased by Volkswagen’s upmarket Audi division in 2001. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that majority shareholder Porsche had begun pressuring Volkswagen supervisory board members to consider off-loading Bugatti and Lamborghini. However, Winterkorn’s comments seem to suggest that is unlikely.
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