 "VW strategy revealed in Lamborghini-Bentley SUV rivalry")
Lamborghini's development maestro, Maurizio Reggiani, resigned himself to weeks of sleeping on the shop floor after parent Volkswagen AG pulled the planned debut of his SUV in favour of one from corporate cousin Bentley.
To save face and highlight the brand at the Geneva motor show, Reggiani had just two months to build an alternative model - a convertible version of the flagship Aventador. "For Lamborghini, if you don't have 'wow,' you have a problem," said Reggiani, a Maserati veteran who's been at the Italian supercar maker since 1995.
Lamborghini's fight to defend its reputation as a dream factory - and prevent Bentley from winning the race to build what would likely be the world's most expensive sport-utility vehicle - reflects VW's system of orchestrating competition among its 12 brands to keep them focused and hungry. While most carmakers have multiple brands, none have as many as VW and none have been as successful at combining luxury vehicles with mass-market models.
No windshield
"The biggest risk to achieving our goals is losing focus on what got us here, and that's making the best cars on the market," Winterkorn, 66, said in an interview. "You can only manage a multi-brand strategy like ours when you have the right technology, processes and people behind it."
For VW's brand chieftains, the CEO - a pure-blood car guy and protege of 76-year-old Chairman Ferdinand Piech - is final judge, jury and executioner of the German company's product plans. In the case of Bentley and Lamborghini, winning Winterkorn's approval would bring more than euro 100 million ($131 million) in development money and bragging rights.
Reggiano's plan to make sure Lamborghini still had something to show in Geneva last year resulted in the J, a raging 700-horsepower ragtop supercar that even dispensed with a windscreen. Featuring a rear-view mirror rising from the hood like a periscope and seats made from a lightweight fabric called carbon skin, the one-off vehicle was eccentric and extravagant - the perfect stopgap for the delayed SUV push.
To save face and highlight the brand at the Geneva motor show, Reggiani had just two months to build an alternative model - a convertible version of the flagship Aventador. "For Lamborghini, if you don't have 'wow,' you have a problem," said Reggiani, a Maserati veteran who's been at the Italian supercar maker since 1995.
Lamborghini's fight to defend its reputation as a dream factory - and prevent Bentley from winning the race to build what would likely be the world's most expensive sport-utility vehicle - reflects VW's system of orchestrating competition among its 12 brands to keep them focused and hungry. While most carmakers have multiple brands, none have as many as VW and none have been as successful at combining luxury vehicles with mass-market models.
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VW will showcase the breadth of those offerings on Monday at an event intended to upstage competitors ahead of the opening of the International Auto Show in Frankfurt - the industry's largest event in Europe this year. Brands from pragmatic Skoda to excessive Bugatti will present their driving visions at an arena with space for about 5,000 spectators. At the centre of the action will be Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn.
No windshield
"The biggest risk to achieving our goals is losing focus on what got us here, and that's making the best cars on the market," Winterkorn, 66, said in an interview. "You can only manage a multi-brand strategy like ours when you have the right technology, processes and people behind it."
For VW's brand chieftains, the CEO - a pure-blood car guy and protege of 76-year-old Chairman Ferdinand Piech - is final judge, jury and executioner of the German company's product plans. In the case of Bentley and Lamborghini, winning Winterkorn's approval would bring more than euro 100 million ($131 million) in development money and bragging rights.
Reggiano's plan to make sure Lamborghini still had something to show in Geneva last year resulted in the J, a raging 700-horsepower ragtop supercar that even dispensed with a windscreen. Featuring a rear-view mirror rising from the hood like a periscope and seats made from a lightweight fabric called carbon skin, the one-off vehicle was eccentric and extravagant - the perfect stopgap for the delayed SUV push.