Bugatti and Bentley have a new chief and Porsche gets a new R&D head under VW group management changes announced on Monday.

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Wolfgang Hatz (51) joins Porsche’s management board and, from 1 February, will head research and development while remaining in charge of engine and transmission development for the group.

Wolfgang Dürheimer (52), Porsche’s outgoing development chief, will become Bentley chairman and president and CEO as well as group motorsport director. He replaces Franz-Josef Paefgen (64) who is retiring.

Hatz was engaged an engineer and engine development project leader at BMW and at BMW Motorsport from 1983 until 1989. He joined Porsche in 1989 and was, among other functions, involved in the development of the Formula 1 engine. He went to Knorr Bremse in 1993 and in 1995 became technical director of motorsport at Opel before heading engine and transmission development at Fiat in 1997. He joined the VW group in 2001 to take a similar role at Audi until 2009, assuming the same function within the group in February 2007.

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