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VW Group Went On Spending Spree In 1998, Purchasing Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti
When Volkswagen (VW) Group showed its might in 1998 by going on spending spree.
It purchased British luxury brands, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as Lamborghini and Bugatti.
Back in 1998, the Volkswagen Group, known today for controlling one of the largest number of auto brands, went on a spending spree to rescue famous names in the automotive industry from going into extinction.
Before the year ran out, Volkswagen AG has acquired Vickers Plc-owned Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors, Lamborghini through its subsidiary, Audi, and revived the Bugatti name as it bids make more profits.
Rolls-Royce and Bentley
…Yes, Volkswagen AG initially outbidded BMW’s final offer of £340m with its £430m offer when Vickers plc decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors in 1998.
A later deal (which you can read here) between Volkswagen Group and BMW later allowed VW to make cars under Rolls-Royce from 1998 to 2002, while BMW was able to name its cars “Rolls-Royce”, starting January 2003.
While under its care, VW produced the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph (1998–2002), which shared its design with the Bentley Arnage, as well as the Corniche V (2000–02).
Again, from 1 January 2003 forward, Volkswagen AG became the sole provider of cars with the “Bentley” marque, claiming that it only really wanted Bentley anyway.
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Bugatti
Today, you have to be wealthy before you can dream of buying a Bugatti car that cost well over $2 million dollars.
The idea to buy Bugatti from Romano Artioli started when legendary VW Group boss and engineer Ferdinand Piëch needed a brand to go with his 18 cylinder engine. He got the inspiration to build the engine while travelling on the “Shinkansen” bullet-train between Tokyo and Nagoya.
This revised version of the engine, which will later power the Veyron to a topspeed, currently sits in the bonnets of seven-figure Chiron and its variants.
Lamborghini
Audi, a brand under the Volkswagen Group, bought Lamborghini in 1998 for US$110 million from Indonesian company Megatech. Megatech was jointly owned by the youngest son of Indonesian President, Suharto.
All of its current models – the Hurucan and Aventador sportscars and the Urus SUV – currently has a starting price over $200,000.
Lamborghini is one of several VW Group’s money maker, forcing Audi to come out today to remind everyone that the Italian sports car maker is not for sale, even for $9.2 Billion.
Today, Volkswagen Group controls the Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
