the last job of the new bentley CEO? oh, i'm just developing a porsche 918 spider.
Bentley on Tuesday named Frank-Steffen Walliser, a veteran of Porsche, a fellow brand of the Volkswagen Group, as its new CEO.
Walliser has announced plans to join Aston Martin as its new CEO from Oct in May 1 to take over the role from Adrian Hallmark. 1. Hallmark will replace Amedeo Felisa, who is retiring.
Walliser has been with Porsche since 1995. 1 of the career highlights was from 2010, when he oversaw the development of the 918 Spider Hypercar. He then became Porsche's Head of Motorsports, taking over the management of the 718 and 911 sports car lines, and eventually became responsible for Porsche's entire vehicle development.
Walliser's background is mechanical engineering and focuses on internal combustion engines. But he is joining Bentley at a time when the automaker is likely to have launched a new twin-turbocharged V-8 that will form part of the final combustion engine, the plug-in hybrid powertrain known as the Ultra-performance Hybrid.
The powertrain will debut later this year with an updated Continental GT range that serves as an alternative to Bentley's venerable twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 and provides a total system output of 771 hp. Bentley is also working on electric powertrain, which will debut with Bentley's first electric vehicle in late 2026.
In a separate announcement, Bentley named Mike Rocco last week as the new chief of the Americas, the automaker's largest market. Rocco, formerly Head of Sales for the Americas, returned to Bentley's Crewe, UK headquarters and was replaced by Christophe Georges, who led the automaker's global sales and marketing team.