If it weren’t for the surprise departure of Adrian Hallmark, Bentley could justifiably call itself on a roll. It has just launched its third coachbuilt Mulliner, the Batur Convertible; the new Continental GT - a 782hp V8 hybrid - will arrive next month; and it found time last month to break ground on a new paint shop at Crewe. In short, it’s all going on - and while its first fully electric car has now been pushed back to 2026 (meaning we won’t see a range comprised entirely of EVs till after 2030) even that feels like a prudent decision given the two thumbs down that apparently greets anything battery-electric launched in the luxury market.
Having lost the man ultimately responsible for its strategy to Aston Martin, the VW Group has been forced to dig deep for his replacement. After nearly two months, it reckons it has found its man in Frank-Steffen Walliser - an industry veteran who has already served nearly 30 years at Porsche. “Bentley is getting an experienced engineer with distinct product and technology expertise and entrepreneurial experience who brought brand-defining models to the streets at Porsche,” said Gernot Döllner, Chairman of Audi’s management board.
When one of those brand-defining models includes the 918 Spyder (Walliser was project leader on Porsche’s electrified hypercar) it’s fair to say that Döllner is not selling the German short. And if that seems insufficiently challenging, from 2014 until 2019, Walliser was the Head of Motorsport at Porsche - not a job for the fainthearted - before he took over management of the all-important 911 and 718 product lines. He only left that job so he could rise to the position of Vice President Complete Vehicle Architecture and Characteristics, where he was ultimately responsible for the technical design of all future Porsche models. This is a man who knows his onions, clearly.
“I am approaching this job with great respect and looking forward to having a team in Crewe that has shown impressive performance over the last few years. The continuing transformation of the automotive industry will be a major task for Bentley as well, a task that I am happy to take on with the team. I am convinced Bentley will continue to set standards in the luxury segment in the future” Walliser said. Only time will tell, of course, how well the firm’s new CEO navigates Crewe’s eventual transition to a fully electric lineup - but Bentley’s employees could hardly have asked for a man with a more detailed understanding of the issues it faces. Let’s hope he brings the fairy dust with him.
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