Stuttgart. At its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, appointed Wolfgang Hatz (51) to its Board of Management. As from February 1, 2011, Hatz will be heading the Research and Development division, in addition to his prior function as Head of Engines and Transmissions Development for the Volkswagen Group. Wolfgang Dürheimer (52), Porsche’s outgoing Head of Development, will, at the same time, take over as Chairman of the Executive Board of Bentley Motors, as well as becoming the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bugatti S.A.. In addition, he will assume the function of Motorsport Director for the Volkswagen Group.

Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, acknowledged the outstanding commitment shown by Dürheimer over the past ten years: “A number of new models and model series spurring the international success and growth of the sports car manufacturer were created under his leadership. Cayenne, Panamera and the RS Spyder racing car all bear the unmistakable hallmark of Wolfgang Dürheimer, and are a testament to his outstanding expertise in the field of intelligent and efficient sports car development.”

Matthias Müller expressed his satisfaction at the recruitment of “a renowned engineering expert from within the Group” as Dürheimer’s successor: “Wolfgang Hatz has many years of experience with Volkswagen, and all the credentials needed to strengthen the position of Weissach as a competence centre for sports car development.”

Wolfgang Hatz was engaged as an engineer and project leader in engine development at BMW AG 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. As an engineering graduate, Hatz took up a post at Knorr Bremse in 1993, and in 1995 became Technical Director of Motorsport at Opel before taking over as Head of Engines and Transmissions Development at Fiat in 1997. Hatz joined the Volkswagen Group in 2001. Here, too, he served as Head of Engines and Transmissions Development at Audi until 2009, having assumed the same function within the VW Group in February 2007.

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