November 21, 2025 • 49 mins
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser joins the podcast, plus Porsche's Cayenne EV and the Audi RS6 Avant.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm Hannah Elliott and I'm Matt Miller. This is hot pursuit.
Coming up today, Bentley unveils its new super Sports. They're
calling it their most driver focused Bentley ever, and who.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Better to talk about it than Bentley CEO Frank Stephan Wallacer.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And I also want to talk a little bit about
the Audi RS six that you've driven and has been
out this generation for years and years, but I just
got to spend a week in Plus Portia has a
new all electric hai En and Hannah. The reaction on
social media absolutely brutal.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and maybe you rightfully so.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Almost feels like a Jaguar rebranding moment.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Possibly. I mean, it just feels like everybody in the
world and their mother is doing a major gut check
saying this is not what Porscha means, it's not what
it stands for, and we want get this out of here,
get it out of here.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I think, you know, to be fair, I feel like
Porsche they already know that this has been a problem
their journey into EVS, and it's caused hundreds of millions
of euros and losses and the stock has lost half
of its value since they started trading a couple of
years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It's been a disaster. But also, you know what is
so weird. I just went back and I looked at
the numbers because I wanted to. You know, the mccon
has an electric version. And I went back and looked
at sales the first half of this year twenty twenty
five of macon and half of mccon's sales were the
electric version, which I thought was actually prizingly decent, considering
(02:02):
how poorly this whole ev experiment has gone for Portia. Yeah,
isn't that weird?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
No? I mean I expected that kind of thing because
I was talking with David Welch, who is our Detroit
bureau chief at Bloomberg, about this, and he reminded me
there was a time when the purists were so angry
about the cayenne at all, you know, when they first
came out with it, and of course all I disagree
all of well, I remember the backlash. I was living
(02:29):
in Berlin. It was the early two thousands, and people
were some people were mad about it. But that's the
reason that we have all of these GT three rs
Y socks.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Now like this is I would say I did actually
listen to your interview with David, and I completely disagree
with that characterization. It's apples and oranges introducing a completely
new model like an SUV that has been proven in
the market. And actually Portia was late to the game
to introduce a SUV that was already proven as a
(03:03):
surefire success because most of the American market is SUV's,
everyone was already doing it and that was a known quantity.
Porscha had to do it to make money and you know,
quote unquote, as the story goes, save the company, which
is probably debatable, but that's not the point here. Here
this is something completely different, which is Porsche trying to
(03:27):
move forward ahead on something that is not proven and
it's something that is still hotly debated and is something
that is still in its infancy. Really, I think that
is a this is a completely different scenario.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, that's a fair argument, and of course you're right
on many of those points. BMW had such great success
with the X five before Porscha came out in the
cayenn And it's not just the ev part of this
that people are reacting negatively to. In fact, I think
for the most part, it's the design. I looked through
(04:03):
the negative sentiment on the Instagram post, the initial one,
and it's most people are saying like, look, uh, this
could be a car from BYD. You know, why don't
I just go ahead and buy a Chinese EV if
they're gonna be the same thing.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yes, now, that take I really do agree with. And yeah, if, okay,
if this vehicle had come out and somehow magically looked
really cool, I think people would have been a lot
more forgiving that. Okay, it's an EV. But the fact
that it's electric and it looks blow, it looks like
a blob. Yeah, the fact that it looks like a
(04:41):
blob and is so clearly it does look like it
was just created by AI, Like there's there's no there's
no personality, there's no take. It's just sort of a blob.
Of course, people are gonna hate that, and for good reason.
Now are you gonna say that actually comes out of love?
Because obvious, Porsche is such a beloved brand, And like
(05:05):
the people who are going to criticize the most are
also the most invested and the most engaged. It's because
they care and it means so much to them, and
they don't like it. So I mean it's a good
sign that people are so upset in a way, yea,
because that means it's still engaged and they care.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yes, It's not like Jaguar where people were just outright
disgusted or confused or it was a political thing because
they were so woke. This is definitely car enthusiasts who
care a lot. As his faith no More said we
care a lot about Porsie. But I will say Barry ritholtzs,
and you can probably guess what his response was. He said,
(05:44):
eleven hundred and thirty six horsepower. Why do I care
what a bunch of idiots on social media say? To
his point, you know, I spent recently spent a week
driving the Tykon. It was an amazing vehicle. Like, it's
not a nine to eleven. It didn't really. It reminded
me of a Porscha because it looks like a Porscha
and it has the badging all over.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It reminded you of a Porsche. It actually is a Porsche.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But anyway, but it was amazing for whatever it is.
It was great. Now the problem for me is it's
the same price as a nine to eleven. So why
wouldn't I just buy a nine to eleven because.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
That's and look, we always go back to the thing,
which is, after a certain point, horsepower numbers are irrelevant, nobody.
It doesn't matter that it's eleven hundred. It doesn't matter
if it's two thousand horse power. It doesn't. No, here's
the best way that I've ever heard it described. You
(06:36):
can cook a piece of meat in the microwave really fast,
but that doesn't mean it's gonna taste better than if
you cook it for a slower time on a.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Grill, right, as long as it gets hot enough to cook.
Totally totally true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You get a point, You get the point just because
of my microwave can cook something super quickly. But we
don't want to eat microwave food. We want to have
charge broiled, crispy, juicy, you know, grilled steak, of course
what we want.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, No, I mean a lot of people would much
rather have like a nineteen eighty eight nine to eleven
with two hundred and seventeen horse power. You know, even
though are.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You talking when you say other people? Are you talking
about you?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Not necessarily me? But yes, I would like that. I've
been looking at a lot of these old cars lately,
and they have low numbers. I saw this Ferrari threeh
eight on bat this week, absolutely gorgeous. It only has
a two point nine liter V eight with like two
hundred and thirty horse power, you know, and I wouldn't
(07:40):
what is it whey? They probably weigh like two thousand change,
just just tipping the scales there at twenty five maybe. Yeah,
I guess it's all relative. And Barry's a little bit
biased because he has a nine to eleven that he electrified. Yes,
all right, So anyway, that's the Porsche. Just I still
(08:01):
want to talk a little bit about the RS six,
But when we come back from break, we're gonna give
you our interview with Bentley's CEO talking about the latest unveiling,
the truly driver focused super sports, and we'll explain of
course his connection to Portie as well. Bentley CEO Frank
Stefan Wallaser. Up next, this is Bloomberg. Welcome back to
(08:30):
Hot Pursuit. I'm Matt Miller with Hannah Elliott and Hannah
I got a chance to I finally got a chance
to drive the Audi RAS six avant I, as you know,
have a history with the brand. My first car that
I ever personally bought was an Audi Avant, the A
four version. Mine was the two point five TDI with
only one hundred and eighty horse power, by the way,
(08:51):
and still fell fast to me with the five speed manual.
This thing, though, is an absolute beast. As you know
you've driven it, right, I.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Still have it. I've had it for a week. Yes,
and even though I'm actually recording from Las Vegas the
F one race here, I still have it's waiting for
me at home.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It is.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, I've really been enjoying it great.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
I mean, I'll tell you what. I've been pulled over
twice in it.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Wait, okay, so we heard about the first time last
week when you were pulled over because you were running
late and you slipped out of those handcuffs. Now what
happened this time?
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So I was cruising through Hartsdale in Westchester, and I
came to an intersection where I noticed that the light
was red, but there was a parking lot and I
saw that it went out on the other side. Oh yeah,
So I pulled into the parking lot, kind of looked
at the building that was there, and then pulled out
(09:50):
the other side avoiding the light. I feel like for
everybody it was more efficient, right.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
It helps the flow of traffic.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Really, yeah, that's what I was thinking. But the police
office or who has parked right there, didn't think so.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Oh but did you see them parked? Did you?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
As I was making that move, I saw him, Oh, no,
sitting there, and I thought.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
What was your actual infraction?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, apparently that's illegal or that's not allowed. That's what
he told me.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Wait, what if you were pulling into the parking lot
and then you changed your mind and you quickly decided
I don't need to be in this parking lot.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, and that's exactly what I said. I had my
wife with me, and she said, as as the guy
was pulling me over, she said, tell him you wanted
a bagel? But I said no, because I've got a meeting.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah, you know, perfectly plausible, could be true.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right, maybe that is? Maybe that is the case. So
I told him, I said, I listen, I pulled in
here because I wanted a bagel. It was a bagel shop.
And as I pulled in, my wife, who's sitting right here,
told me, no, I have a meeting to get to.
We can't so I pulled right out again.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You know, how did that go over?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
He said, I don't believe you. But then he handed
me back my driver's license and registration and said, don't
do it again.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Gosh, those guys are so strict up there. I have
to say. They got a lot of time on their hands.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
That's that's my thing. They had Like this guy was
doing nothing but just waiting at the light for someone
to do what I did. Like, why doesn't he go
solve a crime.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
To Los Angeles? He'll have his hands full. I mean,
that is the least of our worries.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Is that really even against the law?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Like, I don't think it can be.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
How can you write that law?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Change your mind because you don't want a bagel? Ye?
Come on?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Anyway, the car is an absolute beast and.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Oh yeah, back to the car it's making. Basically, the
point is it's making you drive like a renegade.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Maybe, but it's weird because it's a big old station wagon.
I mean it's heavy, right, It's like gotta be bordering
on five thousand pounds this car.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I don't know. I don't have my the Maroni with me,
but I looked.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I think it's like forty nine hundred and you know,
obviously amazing power with a twin turbo v eight. And
I was in the performance version, which gets over six
hundred horse power, and like more than eight. It's huge, right,
And that's part of the joy. It's so fast, even
for such a big car. It's easy to place, place
(12:24):
it where you want it. So it's very precise.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And stared a sixteen three point three seconds.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
The air suspension is super plush, but also can stiffen
up when you need it too.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Now I do have some I have some notes. I
have some notes or just some they're not notes, but
more thoughts. For one, you kind of touched on it.
It's a big It feels to me to be wide
and quite long. You know this this car is going
to take up all all of the lane. Did you
since that when you were driving it?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Well, keep in mind that I drive a Dodge Challenger
on the wide body version on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Okay, So did it feel equal to that?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It felt about the same, yes, and but longer because
it's so long, right.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
It's long. It's big. I mean, on the one hand,
that's a lot of storage space, and that's what do
you want it for completely, and I honestly, and I
will get on my soapbox for this. I really wish
more Americans would get out of their subs and get
into wagons. And this goes back to because the wagon
can do everything that you really are actually in reality
(13:29):
do in the suv. I know, people want to think
that they can get off road if they need to,
or get out of snow or whatever, but the reality is,
you don't need that big suv when a beautiful wagon
like an Audie Evant will more than cover any of
the realistic needs that you have.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
I mean, obviously, I agree with you one hundred percent.
And I thought about that the whole every time I
was driving it, especially pushing hard into a corner. I
was like, ah, so, I'm so glad that this is
a low wagon and it is pretty. It's not at
all lifting.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I'm careful, Yeah, I'm I'm I'm going slow, you know,
as I pull into the Valets dand at Sunset Tower,
I am going slow. Oh. But that that reminds me
of two things that I have to say that are
very positive about this car. Number One, I don't think
I've ever had a dream about a car before, but
(14:22):
when I got this car that night, I had a
dream that I was drifting it. Cool witch, I don't
it was just like a snapshot of a dream, but
the dream was literally I was in this RS six
drifting it and it was really fun. And I can
honestly say, I don't know if I've ever dreamt about
a car before. So that's there's something emotional there, which
(14:44):
is very a very good sign you can.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
You can drift it too, I'm here to.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, clearly, I've already been doing it in my dreams.
And then the second thing is it got the prime
parking spot. I did go to Sunset Tower a couple
times with it and got the prime parking spot at
least once. Of there's one single parking spot out front,
which is the car that is on display for everybody
to see, and they parked it out front, and I
(15:10):
got a buddy who works in the l stand named Gustavo,
and it wasn't even Gustavo who parked it with someone else.
So that car gets respect, which I really like. And
it's emotional now that the thing that I'm not in
love with is the center console screen.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh my goodness, that's what I am in love with
in fact, when I test drove it, and then my wife.
So I think it's fair to say that you and
I are both very tall, so for us, we don't
need the lifted like the raised seating height of the SUV.
A lot of people who are more vertically challenged, and
my wife's not short, but she said, look, I like
sitting a little bit higher. You know, I get it.
(15:49):
So that's why I think one reason people like SUVs.
But for me, I was like, all right, well, let
me look at a Q seven then or a Q eight,
which I love the design of that so much, and
make sure that they still have this center console this
MMI because we complain about the lack of buttons in
(16:09):
so many other cars, and this car also has no buttons,
like almost no physical buttons, but it has this haptic
response that makes the for me at least, the infotainment
system really pleasurable to use. And I find also the
whole system to be really intuitive. And the bottom screen
(16:31):
of the two screen setup is almost always HVAC. So
I thought it was great, Like I would take any
car with that setup in it. I really liked it
a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
I do agree with you that it is an intuitive setup,
and it works very well and very seamlessly. My quibble
is that with that haptic style screen, you can't just
gently touch the screen. You have to like push it harder.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah you know what I mean. I like that.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, I know what they're trying to do, which is
like simulate a button, so you have to actually push
it harder. But then I'm like, why not just have
a button, because if it's a screen, I'm just intuitively
thinking I can just touch it really lightly, like just
brush it and keep going, and it doesn't actually register
that input. You have to push it harder, and I
find myself like jabbing my finger to push the button,
(17:22):
to push the button, which isn't a button.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's a great I imagine, like all the cars that
we test out for a few days or for a week,
this is the kind of thing that you would get
used to if you owned it and live with it
on a daily basis. Either way you would adapt. But
my only complaint with this car that I loved so much,
I was automatically you know, configuring them online and shopping
for used ones. The problem I have is the complexity.
(17:45):
And this is something that we talked to Frank Stephan
Wallacer about as well, like it's a twin turbo, it's
got the air suspension, rear wheel steering, you know, the
whole electronic system on the inside. Just so there's so
many things that can go wrong, and you can break
down and repairs you know of brands like this just
(18:05):
cost so much money. I mean I lightly cracked the
headlight on my Mercedes GLS and it cost five thousand
dollars to repair it. So yeah, and that was just
a light crack on the cake on the outside glass.
I was like, can we just repair the glass? They
were like, no, no, dude, we got to order the
whole headlight pod with the computer and the chips and everything.
(18:28):
That's horrible, But that's the same thing. If you knock
a way mirror off the RS six, it's gonna cost
you many, many thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
How did you crack that headlight? Out of curiosity?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I gently bumped it into another car in my driveway.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Oh no, oh god, Matt.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Anyway, this this kind of complexity is something that we
talked to Frank Stefan Wallacer about as well. And I
want to get into the first part of our interview
remind us quickly, Hannah, why we talked to this guy
so much about Portia.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, of course, as our listeners may recall, Frank Wallaser
was the head of Porsche Motorsport and really credited with
multiple Lamon victories, the nine to eighteen Spider development, and
really a guy that has made Porsche racing successful. And
that goes back to our earlier conversation about Porsche. You know,
(19:22):
it's Frank and his team that really kind of is
the beating heart of Porsche. Porsche has always been a
racing brand, that is the DNA, and so Frank had
a big role in that.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
All right, let's let's listen to what Frank has to
tell us.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
This super sports the new car. It's got a Mantai
racing wheels, it's got a Kropovich exhaust system. People, serious
car people know these brands, and they might know him
from Porsche and Orgakati.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Of course, fantasy switch from turban Noni to Akropovich because
the exhausts were so much better made.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Of course, you've got the daughter of a very famous
Porsche racer, mister Ikozawa now who's now helping shape some
of the Bentley messaging I'm curious if Bentley Brass get
tired of you talking about Porsche, and like it keeps
coming up in the conversation and I'm starting to see
(20:21):
almost like a dovetailing between the brands. Is that even accurate?
Speaker 3 (20:27):
No, I think number one, I'm I'm really cautious on
comparing the company's because Bentley has a very rich own
history and everything. It's not about copying it, for sure. Yes,
And this is not so much about my knowledge or
my link to it. It's it's inside the company. And
(20:47):
this is what amazed me a lot when we started
that project. It was really kind of igniting what was
there anyway, and we just kicked off the project and
then people came up with the ideas with the arrow,
with the wheels, with the tire setting, the tire selection,
and how to tune the car. And then yeah, maybe
I fueled it a little bit up and gave some directions,
(21:10):
but it was never never to say, Okay, we have
to target that car or this car. It was really
an own Bentley interpretation. It has also showed a lot
about self confidence and the knowledge inside the company, and
that's honestly, that's even more more fun to do so.
And yes, there's some suppliers out we are using. They're
(21:30):
just amongst the best in the industry. Why not why
going elsewhere, Go to the professionals, go to the best
what you can get. And this is the same for
carbon fiber parts, this is for wheels, this is for exhaust.
We know, we know what to do, and we knows
what we can do in our factory, like the seat
adjustment to create a new seat in that time. This
(21:53):
looks easy, but this is a safety part, airbags, everything
what comes with that. And we have the engineer capabilities
and we have to the manufacturing capabilities to really make
something in such a short time that really is great,
a little bit engineering's paradise, honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You know, you came and essentially flipped a switch or
you ignited something that was already there, that the company
already had in it. And I'm just wondering if you
think Bentley had gone too far towards luxury maybe or
too far towards complications when simplicity may have been better.
I always we always talk about the fact that I
(22:33):
really want a Turbo R. I love those and all
of the Bentley's of the last you know, twenty or
thirty years, and unfortunately they're affordable for me because they're
so complicated and maintenance costs are so high that other
people are avoiding them. Do you want to kind of
turn that around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I think simplification is a matter anyway, and that fits
also to our luxury proposition because is normally not complicated.
It's curated and simple and someone makes you the choice,
and the choice is thoughtful and it takes it away
from the customer. And that's that's part of our luxury proposition.
(23:12):
So it does, it does not, Yeah, it contributes to that.
When I started, for sure, I looked carefully on history
and what have been the cars, And you mentioned the
tourbo Art. That was the car that changed a lot
in the Bentley brand perception and it was the return
of the the birth maybe of the power seedan and
(23:39):
and that's the reason for being Bentley because from that
point on it was outselling thes siblings and that just
shows just the sporty image. And it's not only image,
it's also the car delivered. It's very important for it
and it's part of the Bentley DNA. In the late eighties,
(24:00):
unbelievable think on their tires and brakes. We maybe went
a little bit too much in luxury and the only craftsmanship.
But it's it's more. It's it's the rewarding car, the
car that makes fun to drive. And it's all built
in these cars. The capabilities are there, and now it's
(24:22):
up to emphasize it again and to give also clear
direction to say, well, if you do the curation, we
do the curation. That means we will have to give
up on compromises. A clear direction for the car, for
the car, a clear signature, very easy to explain car.
(24:43):
And I think that that's maybe the power of the supersports.
To explain this car. I need ten seconds because I
will tell you it's the lightest ever, it's really drive.
It's a nice only car. That's it. And the message
lens and we can see the social media reactions. It
is very clear. Everybody understands it. This is this is good.
We have to make benefit out of that. And this
(25:04):
this applies to every car. There's more to come. We
have different segments. It looks different for us then then
for an suv and and for sure to go on
the Continental is the the most natural and easy, easy
one and second is and I think this is also
very important the league and the price point where we
(25:27):
are selling cars. It's about emotions and the brand. And
this is a common understanding. It's it's not something we
fight inside the company or we have a we have
difficult discussions within the board and within our management. We
are very clear we want to bring more emotions back
to the brand.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
You made the comment we need fans. This is very
important and this is a bit of a new focus
that you've brought to Bentley, talk a little bit about
what you what you meant when you said we also
need fans.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
I think it's for a car brand. And there's famous
examples from h names I will not name now, but
they have a red car in Italy. They have definitely
more fans than than buyers. But this is a this
is a big part of it. And this is for
every luxury brand you need, you need to be admiled for,
for your for your choice you made. If you're the
(26:24):
only one that is convinced on the product, that's not
partn of a luxury story. And this is you want
to show and you yeah, you want that. Other people
say I would like to have such a car even
if it's not my price, TEG. But I really like it,
and this is this is the fans. But we have
also to address to the fans and not just say no,
this is only for customers. We want to be accessible
(26:48):
to show the fans why not sharing and show our
passion and show what's behind this is for example, why
our stand in Goodwood was open to the public. Everyone
and I think it was ten thousand people could sit
in a Bentley and make a photo and a lot
went out that I was never sitting in a Bentley.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
It's a lot of butts and seats. Yeah, yeah, did
I mean? Is it to me when you say when
you mentioned the Italian brand? I think, okay, did Porsche
follow that blueprint? And now Bentley is following the Porsche blueprint?
Can we make that connection in terms of there are
more fans than buyers.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
I think Porsche is maybe the masterpiece of orchestrating the
community it developed over the years. I would say it's
from the result. It's definitely there was there masterplant, I
don't think. So it developed and it was adapted and
a lot of people are very passionated and brought it
(27:46):
in and for sure the group is bigger and the
whole thing grew. I think it cannot. There are some
cases in the world, some car manufacturers and this is Ferrari,
this is Porsche. They cannot be repeated because you don't
have seventy five years of history and everything, what was
built up over over the years, all the different cars,
(28:08):
the stories, the motorsport, the heritage to racing. You cannot
copy that. And it's not about copying it. It's more
about to understand how does our brand work, what is
specific on us, what is special and unique on us?
And yeah, make this accessible and then develop an own
(28:30):
brand plan that says, okay, we take this element and
for sure, in today's world, as nearly everything exists, you
will never have something totally unique, and all the time
someone will call you copy this, you copy, copy this.
It's never new.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, but it's yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
But on the other hand, it's also combined cleverly and
then execute. The idea of a supersports have been around
for many, many times, many many years. But it's about execution.
It's about do it make it. Take the money and
for sure it was also risk. So we invested a
little bit of money and not only a little bit
(29:08):
to make such a car happen.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I can't imagine it being a tough sell to the
board to do this car.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
But was it I was the board so okay with
my colleagues, No, I think the interesting thing is and
this is maybe definitely or this is a strength of
Bentley in the configuration we have at the moment with
our management with the board, we are really very very
(29:34):
quick aligned on what direction we go. And Supersports was
not a hard sell. We have all been convinced all
that this is the right way to do it, and
we had to find a way to finance it and
to bring it in and very tough timing. And yeah,
then you have to work on to make it possible,
(29:54):
from procurement to finance, from manufacturing to logistics. Is a
complex car prote so it has two hundred and fifty
something new paths. So this is really complex and that
shows what the organization the project.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
But as you say, the explanation of the car is
not complex. No, it's high horse power, you know, big
displacement VI eight rear wheel drive. Everybody looks at that,
even people who can't afford it and and can identify
with it right away. As opposed to something that's super
luxurious and complex and that's only for Sty'll think it's
(30:30):
only for CEOs and I'm not gonna. I just wonder
how hard it is for an ultra luxury brand like
like a Bentley or Rolls Royce to get the kind
of accessibility that Porsche can offer, because you know, there's
always a Porsche that you can go out and buy
for thirty or forty thousand, like a nine to ninety
six or a Boxer, right, and it's not too pop aftermarket, yeah,
(30:53):
and it's not too complicated to have your the gas
station on the corner work on it, right, whereas with
these two, you know, British brands, especially obviously with Ferrari
as well. But there's a different case. You can't You're
never going to be able to offer something like that.
You don't want a Maserati yourself. You know.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
I will not comment on this, but yeah, this is
why I say you have to tailor it for your
own brand what you can do. And on the other hand,
if I look at especially in the UK Continental GTS
first generation six liters W twelve's nice cars, so this
is affordable.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yes, and look at them a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Yeah, and it comes with and that's maybe that's the
power of the folks one group. A lot of the
paths where you look from a really reliability point of
view is it's the wrong wording, but I use it.
It's mass production, so very reliable. So the engineering what
you get on that car is really good. Yes, spare
(31:56):
power prices. Okay, that's maybe cost a little bit of money,
but that comes with the with the value.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
But it's something that a regular person can handle basically
and done. Yeah, I know what you mean. Not mass production,
but having a massive brand behind the production must must
be helpful. What about future product? Like this is our
first glimpse of what you can enable Bentley to produce?
(32:26):
What else is there? We all know the Continentals and
the Bentaga Okay, ev interesting, but but this.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Is the next BIX thing.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
What about something different than those two? I only think
of Continental and the Ventaga. So what can.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
You We look, we look at the complete range, We
look in our offer. What could drive excitement? Maybe also
on the Bentaga side? What could that look like? We
look and this is and I think this is important.
Now it was asked yesterday. Oh, now you do a
(33:00):
supersports spent Taka and you do a supersports flying Spur.
I said, no, no, no, no no. Maybe a more
extreme car of the Bentela. Maybe something that is a
more exciting, maybe a coup or. I don't know, I know,
but I don't tell you or what is the interpretation
(33:22):
in a flying Spur, and then you have to make
specific decisions to that. But as you said, in the
area of a flying spur, the flying Spur is for
me such a perfect car already. I'm not sure if
you could add something similar then on the supersports there,
because he's already the performance sedan coming with the luxury
(33:47):
of a Bentley. So it's not again, it's it's tailoring.
It's to understand the brand. It's understand the marketing and
the markets and the customer demands and then to come
out with the with the the ideas. But for sure
Continental is our core product and it's it's really brand
defining and there we will have the majority of our
(34:10):
focus on Continental. And second, as the market is so
big on Bentega.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
That's the Bentley CEO Frank Stefan Wallacer coming up after
the break, how Ai is redesigning what luxury looks like
more of our chat right after this, and I got
some buying advice for an air cooled Porsche. Welcome back
(34:39):
to Hot Pursuit. I'm Matt Miller along with Hannah Elliott.
Let's get back to our conversation with the Bentley CEO,
Frank Stephen Wallaser, who also worked at Porsche for a
long time and is famous for that. And I will
tell you quickly, Hannah. You know, I asked him about
my air cooled Porsche search and I'm leaning towards I
thought like nine to six four, because it's the end
(35:00):
of for me a generation of Porschas that all look
the same. I've thought about, you know, an earlier one
I saw Magnus did a video on the International Race
of Champions in which he's driving a very old one,
far too expensive for me. But I was like, oh,
maybe I could backdate our era. Yeah, yeah, to get
(35:21):
to the seventies. But you know, they all have more
primitive suspension. And Frank said it's a rubbish. He said,
go with the nine to nine three because they had
upgraded to a multi league suspension in the back. They
had already coil overs from the nine six four, And
he said everything else is like he didn't say trash,
(35:41):
but he implied like not even worth driving. You know what.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I remember when you asked him that because I was
standing there and I kind of loved how unfussy his
answer was yeah, because didn't he make some comment about, oh,
you know, people get into what wheels are you running
and all this stuff and he kind of just like
was like shoot it all away, and he was very
unfussy about it, and I just kind of liked it
(36:06):
because this guy is an engineer, mastermind and he just
kind of brushed it all away and was like, oh yeah,
you know, just get the nine nine three and drive it.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Yeah. For him, there's no debate, like he has thoughts.
He's decided and that's it. But the funny thing is,
I was texting Magnus later and he said, that's like
my least favorite generation.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I know it is it is he doesn't like he
really doesn't like it.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I mean, I don't like the way the nine line
three looks, the headlights already starting to lay back, and
it looks like every time I see a nine nine
three that's red, I feel like it resembles the guy
from Cars, you know, the red guy.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Cars they totally, totally.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Yeah, I don't want that, you know, I want something
bad ass. I want to step out of it in
cowboy boots with my dreadlocks and big beard. You know.
That's I want to be the outlaw.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
You need something a little more ornery? Do you need
something that feels a little rambunctious. Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Sure, and that's you know what. That's kind of like
what the Supersports is for Bentley as well. They're getting
a little bit more ornery.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Yeah. Let's come on, giddy up, let's go.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
All right, let's get back to our interview with Frank
Stephen Wallace, or the CEO of Bentley.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I want to ask about something I've been thinking about
a lot with these really old historic luxury brands, and
it's the idea of AI and how software is increasingly
becoming a key differentiator for a lot of buyers in cars,
but in luxury cars too. So how do you implement
(37:40):
that in a very old, historic luxury brand that it's
not necessarily a friendly fit with software?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah? Well, the question is now from a little bit
more an engineering perspective, A car like super Wards without
software no chance to realize it because we are using
all the systems that are in from from the rollbar
adjustment to the air suspension to the slip differential to
the engine tuning. This is this is everything based on software.
(38:14):
You can make that driving.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Area I mean more specifically like the interface with.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
The interface and the entertainment there is. It is really
it's a way to find again the curation, to make it,
to make it simple in the use. What's definitely a
bigger effort than to make everything adjustable because you have
to make decisions. It can be also in the luxury
(38:42):
segment really helpful to build up, but you have to invest.
And the real task is it's just the size of
the company because we're a small volume and if you are,
the competition is coming from premium because there's high volume,
a lot of engineering capacity and to keep that level
(39:06):
this is really demanding. And again this benefit as we
have resources in the group we can use and benefit from.
And then we have to find a Bentley way in
an interpretation of a digital user interface to not just
have something what is replaceable. Do you feel that there
will come rise ideas with our next card that we
(39:30):
will present, I would say it's really very very good
ideas people have been very soughtful.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I was thinking, does the Bentley buyer expect Bentley to
be at the forefront of that or not necessarily.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I don't think it's expected to be at the forefront,
but it's expected to be on ice level. You want
to use your car play, you want to connect your phone.
This has just to work. Also, the driver assistance systems
they're getting, they have more and more impact on the driving,
(40:08):
and people expect that they work flawless. From traffic sign
recognition to lane keeping, all these things have to work. Yet, No,
we don't have to be the first, but you have
to keep the pace.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
I look around the other brands in your stable and
the Volkswagen stable, and I think of the successes, like
the RS six that I'm driving right now. By the way,
they've done a really good job of haptic feedback and
controlling things through screens without making it annoying. But obviously,
(40:45):
I think a lot of people would like to go
back to buttons for things, especially like HVAC and volume.
I look at the GT three with the touring and
I obviously love the tactile manual transmission. I'm not suggesting
that Bentley has to do something like that, But can
you break away from can you give us a shooting break?
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Can you This whole conversation was going to come to
that court. Well, I do.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
The honest truth is when I look when I woke
up this morning and I looked at the super Sports,
the front was clearly in view and the the rear
end of it was kind of in the distance, and
I could imagine it. I sort of thought of it,
And I also happened to love. I love everything from
the clown shoe to the f F and I'm in
(41:35):
the R S six right now, so I think about
that right especially.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
I like to discuss this really in the US, he
is a wagon. No one buys a wagon. Why no one,
I don't know, but it's it's everybody, all the car
enthusiasts we needed, we needed, we needed. Once the cars
on the market, nobody buys it.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Well, it's because they just default and buy an suv.
If SUVs weren't optional, it's an arms race, and you're
worried about has won. But if we remove the suv option,
then everyone would get wagons.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
After one hundred I don't know, one hundred and forty
years of car development, one hundred and fifty years we
have came up the best body form. The body style
is a sui. Well, that's the biggest market. How about this?
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Will you do?
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Will you do more of the one offs of the
high dollar custom projects that your English competition has been
doing that your Italian competition has been doing. It results
in big margins and also results in a lot of
fans too. A lot of times if you get the
right buyer or if it's shown in the right place,
(42:45):
you know.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
The keys as you say, the right buyer is the
right place. But you need a little bit also technically spoken,
you need a good platform to do so. If you
have a meat engine, carb and fiber hang on body,
it's very easy because keep the easy in. But it's
easier because you have a spine and then you put
a new body on it, and then you call it
a something and there's a demand in the market because
(43:12):
it's unique cast it's coming from the factory and it's
it's great stuff and great business. Would it fit well?
Number one to Bentley's technical background, we have more. It's
harder to realize and if you do, it has to
be readly done properly. I see for the Bentley ideas
(43:34):
and for our offer, the sweet spot is more in
the area of super sports, so means higher volume, higher
price point, but limited run. That could be more exciting
for us.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Well, it is pretty darn exciting just from looking at
and reading the numbers.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
I have one final question for Frank. What have you
learned in your year Bentley or what surprised you.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
From seven Housing the crew?
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Yes, because I have to imagine it is it's different.
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Yeah, for sure, it's it's not only another company, it's
another country, it's another culture. I learned a lot I
think about the culture. I had a coach, business coach
that helped me on a regular base and I exchanged
my feelings and learnings and everything and it was good. Ignored
(44:31):
the sometimes directions how to deal with the bread. Yeah,
but this is no, this is not a problem and Bentley, No,
really not. And Bentley has a number one A welcoming culture.
People are really open minded and integrate people relatively quick.
And they know how to deal with the Germans. For
(44:52):
twenty five years, well they make longer. They're coming in
all the time. No, no, no, this is this was the
easier part. For sure. You have to learn what can
the company do what we are the capabilities where it's
maybe points where you can improve. How does the whole
system work, How does the sales work, how does the
(45:13):
financial things work? You learn an overview and to get
the right things. On the other hand, you have to
act immediately until you have no time, so you cannot
make an analysis and then reflect and then go on.
So we did. The whole strategic work was done within
eight weeks. The team was supportive, and then we changed
(45:35):
the direction. We looked at the electrification, we looked at
the offer of the hybrids, and a lot of learnings
for me, and then we immediately started new projects immediately,
so this after twelve weeks, we started with the next
next projects, the next programs, so that was really a
quick start. I would say it worked pretty well with
(45:56):
the integration. My colleagues could could judge that better, but no,
I think it's it worked and I also embraced it
and liked it. I liked the complexity in the job
to have this overarching responsibility. I think we have a
really really good team in the board and with our
(46:17):
our extended management team together, very trustful, open minded, a
good culture in Bentley that is that is open minded
and the small team is nimble and agile. What I
like this is my raising genes too.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
To go through and then stay light on your feet.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Yeah horse power, right, I like that exactly.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Well, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
Please come back if you're a year from now. We
should do this twice a year.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
Once again. Our thanks to Bentley CEO Frank Stefan Wallacer.
He is truly an awesome dude. And by the way,
he also had PR with him. Each of them knew
everything about every generation of every folks slacking vehicle. So
like a really smart team.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
They've got a tight operation. Let me tell you they
run a tight ship over there.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
I want to have those guys on as guests, like
we can't have a PR person on as a guest.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
But no, no, it wouldn't be proper. But there are
a couple PR people and one of the PR people
with Frank who joined their couple that I want to
write a book. And I know they never would because
they're discreet and professional, but you know that they know
so much and have so many interesting stories. I'd love
(47:42):
to read that book.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
Yeah, they know where the bodies are buried and they
have such deep knowledge. I know, so very cool to
have them here in studio.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
Yeah, that does it for this week's show. Remember to
follow and subscribe to Bloomberg Hot Pursuit on Apple Spot
and anywhere else you listen. Please leave us a rating,
maybe five stars if you feel like it.
Speaker 2 (48:06):
I'm not your mom.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Be what you want?
Speaker 2 (48:08):
Four we go?
Speaker 3 (48:09):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (48:09):
Four would be go?
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Yet? Fine? We'd accept, We'd accept, or just leave a comment.
It helps new listeners find the podcast and join the community,
and you can also send us your comments by emailing
us at Hot Pursuit at Bloomberg dot net.
Speaker 2 (48:24):
And check out Hannah's columns and stories on Bloomberg dot
com and on the Bloomberg Business app. Go there for
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From a unique perspective. Find it all at Bloomberg dot com,
slash Pursuits, slash autos plus.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
We do tend to share pictures, videos, and more from
the podcast on our Instagram. For instance, I'm actually joining
from Las Vegas today. I'm here for the F one
Grand Prix. You can find me on Instagram at Hannah
Elliott XO.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
And I'm Matt Miller nineteen seventy three. Thanks for listening,
we'll be in your podcast feeding and next week Happy Thanksgiving.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm Hannah Elliott and I'm Matt Miller. This is hot pursuit.
Coming up today, Bentley unveils its new super Sports. They're
calling it their most driver focused Bentley ever, and who.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Better to talk about it than Bentley CEO Frank Stephan Wallacer.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And I also want to talk a little bit about
the Audi RS six that you've driven and has been
out this generation for years and years, but I just
got to spend a week in Plus Portia has a
new all electric hai En and Hannah. The reaction on
social media absolutely brutal.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and maybe you rightfully so.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Almost feels like a Jaguar rebranding moment.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Possibly. I mean, it just feels like everybody in the
world and their mother is doing a major gut check
saying this is not what Porscha means, it's not what
it stands for, and we want get this out of here,
get it out of here.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I think, you know, to be fair, I feel like
Porsche they already know that this has been a problem
their journey into EVS, and it's caused hundreds of millions
of euros and losses and the stock has lost half
of its value since they started trading a couple of
years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It's been a disaster. But also, you know what is
so weird. I just went back and I looked at
the numbers because I wanted to. You know, the mccon
has an electric version. And I went back and looked
at sales the first half of this year twenty twenty
five of macon and half of mccon's sales were the
electric version, which I thought was actually prizingly decent, considering
(02:02):
how poorly this whole ev experiment has gone for Portia. Yeah,
isn't that weird?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
No? I mean I expected that kind of thing because
I was talking with David Welch, who is our Detroit
bureau chief at Bloomberg, about this, and he reminded me
there was a time when the purists were so angry
about the cayenne at all, you know, when they first
came out with it, and of course all I disagree
all of well, I remember the backlash. I was living
(02:29):
in Berlin. It was the early two thousands, and people
were some people were mad about it. But that's the
reason that we have all of these GT three rs
Y socks.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Now like this is I would say I did actually
listen to your interview with David, and I completely disagree
with that characterization. It's apples and oranges introducing a completely
new model like an SUV that has been proven in
the market. And actually Portia was late to the game
to introduce a SUV that was already proven as a
(03:03):
surefire success because most of the American market is SUV's,
everyone was already doing it and that was a known quantity.
Porscha had to do it to make money and you know,
quote unquote, as the story goes, save the company, which
is probably debatable, but that's not the point here. Here
this is something completely different, which is Porsche trying to
(03:27):
move forward ahead on something that is not proven and
it's something that is still hotly debated and is something
that is still in its infancy. Really, I think that
is a this is a completely different scenario.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, that's a fair argument, and of course you're right
on many of those points. BMW had such great success
with the X five before Porscha came out in the
cayenn And it's not just the ev part of this
that people are reacting negatively to. In fact, I think
for the most part, it's the design. I looked through
(04:03):
the negative sentiment on the Instagram post, the initial one,
and it's most people are saying like, look, uh, this
could be a car from BYD. You know, why don't
I just go ahead and buy a Chinese EV if
they're gonna be the same thing.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yes, now, that take I really do agree with. And yeah, if, okay,
if this vehicle had come out and somehow magically looked
really cool, I think people would have been a lot
more forgiving that. Okay, it's an EV. But the fact
that it's electric and it looks blow, it looks like
a blob. Yeah, the fact that it looks like a
(04:41):
blob and is so clearly it does look like it
was just created by AI, Like there's there's no there's
no personality, there's no take. It's just sort of a blob.
Of course, people are gonna hate that, and for good reason.
Now are you gonna say that actually comes out of love?
Because obvious, Porsche is such a beloved brand, And like
(05:05):
the people who are going to criticize the most are
also the most invested and the most engaged. It's because
they care and it means so much to them, and
they don't like it. So I mean it's a good
sign that people are so upset in a way, yea,
because that means it's still engaged and they care.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yes, It's not like Jaguar where people were just outright
disgusted or confused or it was a political thing because
they were so woke. This is definitely car enthusiasts who
care a lot. As his faith no More said we
care a lot about Porsie. But I will say Barry ritholtzs,
and you can probably guess what his response was. He said,
(05:44):
eleven hundred and thirty six horsepower. Why do I care
what a bunch of idiots on social media say? To
his point, you know, I spent recently spent a week
driving the Tykon. It was an amazing vehicle. Like, it's
not a nine to eleven. It didn't really. It reminded
me of a Porscha because it looks like a Porscha
and it has the badging all over.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It reminded you of a Porsche. It actually is a Porsche.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But anyway, but it was amazing for whatever it is.
It was great. Now the problem for me is it's
the same price as a nine to eleven. So why
wouldn't I just buy a nine to eleven because.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
That's and look, we always go back to the thing,
which is, after a certain point, horsepower numbers are irrelevant, nobody.
It doesn't matter that it's eleven hundred. It doesn't matter
if it's two thousand horse power. It doesn't. No, here's
the best way that I've ever heard it described. You
(06:36):
can cook a piece of meat in the microwave really fast,
but that doesn't mean it's gonna taste better than if
you cook it for a slower time on a.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Grill, right, as long as it gets hot enough to cook.
Totally totally true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You get a point, You get the point just because
of my microwave can cook something super quickly. But we
don't want to eat microwave food. We want to have
charge broiled, crispy, juicy, you know, grilled steak, of course
what we want.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, No, I mean a lot of people would much
rather have like a nineteen eighty eight nine to eleven
with two hundred and seventeen horse power. You know, even
though are.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You talking when you say other people? Are you talking
about you?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Not necessarily me? But yes, I would like that. I've
been looking at a lot of these old cars lately,
and they have low numbers. I saw this Ferrari threeh
eight on bat this week, absolutely gorgeous. It only has
a two point nine liter V eight with like two
hundred and thirty horse power, you know, and I wouldn't
(07:40):
what is it whey? They probably weigh like two thousand change,
just just tipping the scales there at twenty five maybe. Yeah,
I guess it's all relative. And Barry's a little bit
biased because he has a nine to eleven that he electrified. Yes,
all right, So anyway, that's the Porsche. Just I still
(08:01):
want to talk a little bit about the RS six,
But when we come back from break, we're gonna give
you our interview with Bentley's CEO talking about the latest unveiling,
the truly driver focused super sports, and we'll explain of
course his connection to Portie as well. Bentley CEO Frank
Stefan Wallaser. Up next, this is Bloomberg. Welcome back to
(08:30):
Hot Pursuit. I'm Matt Miller with Hannah Elliott and Hannah
I got a chance to I finally got a chance
to drive the Audi RAS six avant I, as you know,
have a history with the brand. My first car that
I ever personally bought was an Audi Avant, the A
four version. Mine was the two point five TDI with
only one hundred and eighty horse power, by the way,
(08:51):
and still fell fast to me with the five speed manual.
This thing, though, is an absolute beast. As you know
you've driven it, right, I.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Still have it. I've had it for a week. Yes,
and even though I'm actually recording from Las Vegas the
F one race here, I still have it's waiting for
me at home.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It is.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, I've really been enjoying it great.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
I mean, I'll tell you what. I've been pulled over
twice in it.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Wait, okay, so we heard about the first time last
week when you were pulled over because you were running
late and you slipped out of those handcuffs. Now what
happened this time?
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So I was cruising through Hartsdale in Westchester, and I
came to an intersection where I noticed that the light
was red, but there was a parking lot and I
saw that it went out on the other side. Oh yeah,
So I pulled into the parking lot, kind of looked
at the building that was there, and then pulled out
(09:50):
the other side avoiding the light. I feel like for
everybody it was more efficient, right.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
It helps the flow of traffic.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Really, yeah, that's what I was thinking. But the police
office or who has parked right there, didn't think so.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Oh but did you see them parked? Did you?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
As I was making that move, I saw him, Oh, no,
sitting there, and I thought.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
What was your actual infraction?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, apparently that's illegal or that's not allowed. That's what
he told me.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Wait, what if you were pulling into the parking lot
and then you changed your mind and you quickly decided
I don't need to be in this parking lot.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, and that's exactly what I said. I had my
wife with me, and she said, as as the guy
was pulling me over, she said, tell him you wanted
a bagel? But I said no, because I've got a meeting.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah, you know, perfectly plausible, could be true.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right, maybe that is? Maybe that is the case. So
I told him, I said, I listen, I pulled in
here because I wanted a bagel. It was a bagel shop.
And as I pulled in, my wife, who's sitting right here,
told me, no, I have a meeting to get to.
We can't so I pulled right out again.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You know, how did that go over?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
He said, I don't believe you. But then he handed
me back my driver's license and registration and said, don't
do it again.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Gosh, those guys are so strict up there. I have
to say. They got a lot of time on their hands.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
That's that's my thing. They had Like this guy was
doing nothing but just waiting at the light for someone
to do what I did. Like, why doesn't he go
solve a crime.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
To Los Angeles? He'll have his hands full. I mean,
that is the least of our worries.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Is that really even against the law?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Like, I don't think it can be.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
How can you write that law?
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Change your mind because you don't want a bagel? Ye?
Come on?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Anyway, the car is an absolute beast and.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Oh yeah, back to the car it's making. Basically, the
point is it's making you drive like a renegade.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Maybe, but it's weird because it's a big old station wagon.
I mean it's heavy, right, It's like gotta be bordering
on five thousand pounds this car.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I don't know. I don't have my the Maroni with me,
but I looked.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I think it's like forty nine hundred and you know,
obviously amazing power with a twin turbo v eight. And
I was in the performance version, which gets over six
hundred horse power, and like more than eight. It's huge, right,
And that's part of the joy. It's so fast, even
for such a big car. It's easy to place, place
(12:24):
it where you want it. So it's very precise.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And stared a sixteen three point three seconds.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
The air suspension is super plush, but also can stiffen
up when you need it too.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Now I do have some I have some notes. I
have some notes or just some they're not notes, but
more thoughts. For one, you kind of touched on it.
It's a big It feels to me to be wide
and quite long. You know this this car is going
to take up all all of the lane. Did you
since that when you were driving it?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Well, keep in mind that I drive a Dodge Challenger
on the wide body version on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Okay, So did it feel equal to that?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It felt about the same, yes, and but longer because
it's so long, right.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
It's long. It's big. I mean, on the one hand,
that's a lot of storage space, and that's what do
you want it for completely, and I honestly, and I
will get on my soapbox for this. I really wish
more Americans would get out of their subs and get
into wagons. And this goes back to because the wagon
can do everything that you really are actually in reality
(13:29):
do in the suv. I know, people want to think
that they can get off road if they need to,
or get out of snow or whatever, but the reality is,
you don't need that big suv when a beautiful wagon
like an Audie Evant will more than cover any of
the realistic needs that you have.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
I mean, obviously, I agree with you one hundred percent.
And I thought about that the whole every time I
was driving it, especially pushing hard into a corner. I
was like, ah, so, I'm so glad that this is
a low wagon and it is pretty. It's not at
all lifting.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
I'm careful, Yeah, I'm I'm I'm going slow, you know,
as I pull into the Valets dand at Sunset Tower,
I am going slow. Oh. But that that reminds me
of two things that I have to say that are
very positive about this car. Number One, I don't think
I've ever had a dream about a car before, but
(14:22):
when I got this car that night, I had a
dream that I was drifting it. Cool witch, I don't
it was just like a snapshot of a dream, but
the dream was literally I was in this RS six
drifting it and it was really fun. And I can
honestly say, I don't know if I've ever dreamt about
a car before. So that's there's something emotional there, which
(14:44):
is very a very good sign you can.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
You can drift it too, I'm here to.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, clearly, I've already been doing it in my dreams.
And then the second thing is it got the prime
parking spot. I did go to Sunset Tower a couple
times with it and got the prime parking spot at
least once. Of there's one single parking spot out front,
which is the car that is on display for everybody
to see, and they parked it out front, and I
(15:10):
got a buddy who works in the l stand named Gustavo,
and it wasn't even Gustavo who parked it with someone else.
So that car gets respect, which I really like. And
it's emotional now that the thing that I'm not in
love with is the center console screen.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh my goodness, that's what I am in love with
in fact, when I test drove it, and then my wife.
So I think it's fair to say that you and
I are both very tall, so for us, we don't
need the lifted like the raised seating height of the SUV.
A lot of people who are more vertically challenged, and
my wife's not short, but she said, look, I like
sitting a little bit higher. You know, I get it.
(15:49):
So that's why I think one reason people like SUVs.
But for me, I was like, all right, well, let
me look at a Q seven then or a Q eight,
which I love the design of that so much, and
make sure that they still have this center console this
MMI because we complain about the lack of buttons in
(16:09):
so many other cars, and this car also has no buttons,
like almost no physical buttons, but it has this haptic
response that makes the for me at least, the infotainment
system really pleasurable to use. And I find also the
whole system to be really intuitive. And the bottom screen
(16:31):
of the two screen setup is almost always HVAC. So
I thought it was great, Like I would take any
car with that setup in it. I really liked it
a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
I do agree with you that it is an intuitive setup,
and it works very well and very seamlessly. My quibble
is that with that haptic style screen, you can't just
gently touch the screen. You have to like push it harder.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah you know what I mean. I like that.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, I know what they're trying to do, which is
like simulate a button, so you have to actually push
it harder. But then I'm like, why not just have
a button, because if it's a screen, I'm just intuitively
thinking I can just touch it really lightly, like just
brush it and keep going, and it doesn't actually register
that input. You have to push it harder, and I
find myself like jabbing my finger to push the button,
(17:22):
to push the button, which isn't a button.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's a great I imagine, like all the cars that
we test out for a few days or for a week,
this is the kind of thing that you would get
used to if you owned it and live with it
on a daily basis. Either way you would adapt. But
my only complaint with this car that I loved so much,
I was automatically you know, configuring them online and shopping
for used ones. The problem I have is the complexity.
(17:45):
And this is something that we talked to Frank Stephan
Wallacer about as well, like it's a twin turbo, it's
got the air suspension, rear wheel steering, you know, the
whole electronic system on the inside. Just so there's so
many things that can go wrong, and you can break
down and repairs you know of brands like this just
(18:05):
cost so much money. I mean I lightly cracked the
headlight on my Mercedes GLS and it cost five thousand
dollars to repair it. So yeah, and that was just
a light crack on the cake on the outside glass.
I was like, can we just repair the glass? They
were like, no, no, dude, we got to order the
whole headlight pod with the computer and the chips and everything.
(18:28):
That's horrible, But that's the same thing. If you knock
a way mirror off the RS six, it's gonna cost
you many, many thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
How did you crack that headlight? Out of curiosity?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I gently bumped it into another car in my driveway.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Oh no, oh god, Matt.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Anyway, this this kind of complexity is something that we
talked to Frank Stefan Wallacer about as well. And I
want to get into the first part of our interview
remind us quickly, Hannah, why we talked to this guy
so much about Portia.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, of course, as our listeners may recall, Frank Wallaser
was the head of Porsche Motorsport and really credited with
multiple Lamon victories, the nine to eighteen Spider development, and
really a guy that has made Porsche racing successful. And
that goes back to our earlier conversation about Porsche. You know,
(19:22):
it's Frank and his team that really kind of is
the beating heart of Porsche. Porsche has always been a
racing brand, that is the DNA, and so Frank had
a big role in that.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
All right, let's let's listen to what Frank has to
tell us.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
This super sports the new car. It's got a Mantai
racing wheels, it's got a Kropovich exhaust system. People, serious
car people know these brands, and they might know him
from Porsche and Orgakati.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Of course, fantasy switch from turban Noni to Akropovich because
the exhausts were so much better made.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Of course, you've got the daughter of a very famous
Porsche racer, mister Ikozawa now who's now helping shape some
of the Bentley messaging I'm curious if Bentley Brass get
tired of you talking about Porsche, and like it keeps
coming up in the conversation and I'm starting to see
(20:21):
almost like a dovetailing between the brands. Is that even accurate?
Speaker 3 (20:27):
No, I think number one, I'm I'm really cautious on
comparing the company's because Bentley has a very rich own
history and everything. It's not about copying it, for sure. Yes,
And this is not so much about my knowledge or
my link to it. It's it's inside the company. And
(20:47):
this is what amazed me a lot when we started
that project. It was really kind of igniting what was
there anyway, and we just kicked off the project and
then people came up with the ideas with the arrow,
with the wheels, with the tire setting, the tire selection,
and how to tune the car. And then yeah, maybe
I fueled it a little bit up and gave some directions,
(21:10):
but it was never never to say, Okay, we have
to target that car or this car. It was really
an own Bentley interpretation. It has also showed a lot
about self confidence and the knowledge inside the company, and
that's honestly, that's even more more fun to do so.
And yes, there's some suppliers out we are using. They're
(21:30):
just amongst the best in the industry. Why not why
going elsewhere, Go to the professionals, go to the best
what you can get. And this is the same for
carbon fiber parts, this is for wheels, this is for exhaust.
We know, we know what to do, and we knows
what we can do in our factory, like the seat
adjustment to create a new seat in that time. This
(21:53):
looks easy, but this is a safety part, airbags, everything
what comes with that. And we have the engineer capabilities
and we have to the manufacturing capabilities to really make
something in such a short time that really is great,
a little bit engineering's paradise, honestly.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You know, you came and essentially flipped a switch or
you ignited something that was already there, that the company
already had in it. And I'm just wondering if you
think Bentley had gone too far towards luxury maybe or
too far towards complications when simplicity may have been better.
I always we always talk about the fact that I
(22:33):
really want a Turbo R. I love those and all
of the Bentley's of the last you know, twenty or
thirty years, and unfortunately they're affordable for me because they're
so complicated and maintenance costs are so high that other
people are avoiding them. Do you want to kind of
turn that around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I think simplification is a matter anyway, and that fits
also to our luxury proposition because is normally not complicated.
It's curated and simple and someone makes you the choice,
and the choice is thoughtful and it takes it away
from the customer. And that's that's part of our luxury proposition.
(23:12):
So it does, it does not, Yeah, it contributes to that.
When I started, for sure, I looked carefully on history
and what have been the cars, And you mentioned the
tourbo Art. That was the car that changed a lot
in the Bentley brand perception and it was the return
of the the birth maybe of the power seedan and
(23:39):
and that's the reason for being Bentley because from that
point on it was outselling thes siblings and that just
shows just the sporty image. And it's not only image,
it's also the car delivered. It's very important for it
and it's part of the Bentley DNA. In the late eighties,
(24:00):
unbelievable think on their tires and brakes. We maybe went
a little bit too much in luxury and the only craftsmanship.
But it's it's more. It's it's the rewarding car, the
car that makes fun to drive. And it's all built
in these cars. The capabilities are there, and now it's
(24:22):
up to emphasize it again and to give also clear
direction to say, well, if you do the curation, we
do the curation. That means we will have to give
up on compromises. A clear direction for the car, for
the car, a clear signature, very easy to explain car.
(24:43):
And I think that that's maybe the power of the supersports.
To explain this car. I need ten seconds because I
will tell you it's the lightest ever, it's really drive.
It's a nice only car. That's it. And the message
lens and we can see the social media reactions. It
is very clear. Everybody understands it. This is this is good.
We have to make benefit out of that. And this
(25:04):
this applies to every car. There's more to come. We
have different segments. It looks different for us then then
for an suv and and for sure to go on
the Continental is the the most natural and easy, easy
one and second is and I think this is also
very important the league and the price point where we
(25:27):
are selling cars. It's about emotions and the brand. And
this is a common understanding. It's it's not something we
fight inside the company or we have a we have
difficult discussions within the board and within our management. We
are very clear we want to bring more emotions back
to the brand.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
You made the comment we need fans. This is very
important and this is a bit of a new focus
that you've brought to Bentley, talk a little bit about
what you what you meant when you said we also
need fans.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
I think it's for a car brand. And there's famous
examples from h names I will not name now, but
they have a red car in Italy. They have definitely
more fans than than buyers. But this is a this
is a big part of it. And this is for
every luxury brand you need, you need to be admiled for,
for your for your choice you made. If you're the
(26:24):
only one that is convinced on the product, that's not
partn of a luxury story. And this is you want
to show and you yeah, you want that. Other people
say I would like to have such a car even
if it's not my price, TEG. But I really like it,
and this is this is the fans. But we have
also to address to the fans and not just say no,
this is only for customers. We want to be accessible
(26:48):
to show the fans why not sharing and show our
passion and show what's behind this is for example, why
our stand in Goodwood was open to the public. Everyone
and I think it was ten thousand people could sit
in a Bentley and make a photo and a lot
went out that I was never sitting in a Bentley.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
It's a lot of butts and seats. Yeah, yeah, did
I mean? Is it to me when you say when
you mentioned the Italian brand? I think, okay, did Porsche
follow that blueprint? And now Bentley is following the Porsche blueprint?
Can we make that connection in terms of there are
more fans than buyers.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
I think Porsche is maybe the masterpiece of orchestrating the
community it developed over the years. I would say it's
from the result. It's definitely there was there masterplant, I
don't think. So it developed and it was adapted and
a lot of people are very passionated and brought it
(27:46):
in and for sure the group is bigger and the
whole thing grew. I think it cannot. There are some
cases in the world, some car manufacturers and this is Ferrari,
this is Porsche. They cannot be repeated because you don't
have seventy five years of history and everything, what was
built up over over the years, all the different cars,
(28:08):
the stories, the motorsport, the heritage to racing. You cannot
copy that. And it's not about copying it. It's more
about to understand how does our brand work, what is
specific on us, what is special and unique on us?
And yeah, make this accessible and then develop an own
(28:30):
brand plan that says, okay, we take this element and
for sure, in today's world, as nearly everything exists, you
will never have something totally unique, and all the time
someone will call you copy this, you copy, copy this.
It's never new.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, but it's yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
But on the other hand, it's also combined cleverly and
then execute. The idea of a supersports have been around
for many, many times, many many years. But it's about execution.
It's about do it make it. Take the money and
for sure it was also risk. So we invested a
little bit of money and not only a little bit
(29:08):
to make such a car happen.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I can't imagine it being a tough sell to the
board to do this car.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
But was it I was the board so okay with
my colleagues, No, I think the interesting thing is and
this is maybe definitely or this is a strength of
Bentley in the configuration we have at the moment with
our management with the board, we are really very very
(29:34):
quick aligned on what direction we go. And Supersports was
not a hard sell. We have all been convinced all
that this is the right way to do it, and
we had to find a way to finance it and
to bring it in and very tough timing. And yeah,
then you have to work on to make it possible,
(29:54):
from procurement to finance, from manufacturing to logistics. Is a
complex car prote so it has two hundred and fifty
something new paths. So this is really complex and that
shows what the organization the project.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
But as you say, the explanation of the car is
not complex. No, it's high horse power, you know, big
displacement VI eight rear wheel drive. Everybody looks at that,
even people who can't afford it and and can identify
with it right away. As opposed to something that's super
luxurious and complex and that's only for Sty'll think it's
(30:30):
only for CEOs and I'm not gonna. I just wonder
how hard it is for an ultra luxury brand like
like a Bentley or Rolls Royce to get the kind
of accessibility that Porsche can offer, because you know, there's
always a Porsche that you can go out and buy
for thirty or forty thousand, like a nine to ninety
six or a Boxer, right, and it's not too pop aftermarket, yeah,
(30:53):
and it's not too complicated to have your the gas
station on the corner work on it, right, whereas with
these two, you know, British brands, especially obviously with Ferrari
as well. But there's a different case. You can't You're
never going to be able to offer something like that.
You don't want a Maserati yourself. You know.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
I will not comment on this, but yeah, this is
why I say you have to tailor it for your
own brand what you can do. And on the other hand,
if I look at especially in the UK Continental GTS
first generation six liters W twelve's nice cars, so this
is affordable.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yes, and look at them a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Yeah, and it comes with and that's maybe that's the
power of the folks one group. A lot of the
paths where you look from a really reliability point of
view is it's the wrong wording, but I use it.
It's mass production, so very reliable. So the engineering what
you get on that car is really good. Yes, spare
(31:56):
power prices. Okay, that's maybe cost a little bit of money,
but that comes with the with the value.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
But it's something that a regular person can handle basically
and done. Yeah, I know what you mean. Not mass production,
but having a massive brand behind the production must must
be helpful. What about future product? Like this is our
first glimpse of what you can enable Bentley to produce?
(32:26):
What else is there? We all know the Continentals and
the Bentaga Okay, ev interesting, but but this.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Is the next BIX thing.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
What about something different than those two? I only think
of Continental and the Ventaga. So what can.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
You We look, we look at the complete range, We
look in our offer. What could drive excitement? Maybe also
on the Bentaga side? What could that look like? We
look and this is and I think this is important.
Now it was asked yesterday. Oh, now you do a
(33:00):
supersports spent Taka and you do a supersports flying Spur.
I said, no, no, no, no no. Maybe a more
extreme car of the Bentela. Maybe something that is a
more exciting, maybe a coup or. I don't know, I know,
but I don't tell you or what is the interpretation
(33:22):
in a flying Spur, and then you have to make
specific decisions to that. But as you said, in the
area of a flying spur, the flying Spur is for
me such a perfect car already. I'm not sure if
you could add something similar then on the supersports there,
because he's already the performance sedan coming with the luxury
(33:47):
of a Bentley. So it's not again, it's it's tailoring.
It's to understand the brand. It's understand the marketing and
the markets and the customer demands and then to come
out with the with the the ideas. But for sure
Continental is our core product and it's it's really brand
defining and there we will have the majority of our
(34:10):
focus on Continental. And second, as the market is so
big on Bentega.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
That's the Bentley CEO Frank Stefan Wallacer coming up after
the break, how Ai is redesigning what luxury looks like
more of our chat right after this, and I got
some buying advice for an air cooled Porsche. Welcome back
(34:39):
to Hot Pursuit. I'm Matt Miller along with Hannah Elliott.
Let's get back to our conversation with the Bentley CEO,
Frank Stephen Wallaser, who also worked at Porsche for a
long time and is famous for that. And I will
tell you quickly, Hannah. You know, I asked him about
my air cooled Porsche search and I'm leaning towards I
thought like nine to six four, because it's the end
(35:00):
of for me a generation of Porschas that all look
the same. I've thought about, you know, an earlier one
I saw Magnus did a video on the International Race
of Champions in which he's driving a very old one,
far too expensive for me. But I was like, oh,
maybe I could backdate our era. Yeah, yeah, to get
(35:21):
to the seventies. But you know, they all have more
primitive suspension. And Frank said it's a rubbish. He said,
go with the nine to nine three because they had
upgraded to a multi league suspension in the back. They
had already coil overs from the nine six four, And
he said everything else is like he didn't say trash,
(35:41):
but he implied like not even worth driving. You know what.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I remember when you asked him that because I was
standing there and I kind of loved how unfussy his
answer was yeah, because didn't he make some comment about, oh,
you know, people get into what wheels are you running
and all this stuff and he kind of just like
was like shoot it all away, and he was very
unfussy about it, and I just kind of liked it
(36:06):
because this guy is an engineer, mastermind and he just
kind of brushed it all away and was like, oh yeah,
you know, just get the nine nine three and drive it.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Yeah. For him, there's no debate, like he has thoughts.
He's decided and that's it. But the funny thing is,
I was texting Magnus later and he said, that's like
my least favorite generation.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I know it is it is he doesn't like he
really doesn't like it.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I mean, I don't like the way the nine line
three looks, the headlights already starting to lay back, and
it looks like every time I see a nine nine
three that's red, I feel like it resembles the guy
from Cars, you know, the red guy.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Cars they totally, totally.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Yeah, I don't want that, you know, I want something
bad ass. I want to step out of it in
cowboy boots with my dreadlocks and big beard. You know.
That's I want to be the outlaw.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
You need something a little more ornery? Do you need
something that feels a little rambunctious. Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Sure, and that's you know what. That's kind of like
what the Supersports is for Bentley as well. They're getting
a little bit more ornery.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Yeah. Let's come on, giddy up, let's go.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
All right, let's get back to our interview with Frank
Stephen Wallace, or the CEO of Bentley.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I want to ask about something I've been thinking about
a lot with these really old historic luxury brands, and
it's the idea of AI and how software is increasingly
becoming a key differentiator for a lot of buyers in cars,
but in luxury cars too. So how do you implement
(37:40):
that in a very old, historic luxury brand that it's
not necessarily a friendly fit with software?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah? Well, the question is now from a little bit
more an engineering perspective, A car like super Wards without
software no chance to realize it because we are using
all the systems that are in from from the rollbar
adjustment to the air suspension to the slip differential to
the engine tuning. This is this is everything based on software.
(38:14):
You can make that driving.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Area I mean more specifically like the interface with.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
The interface and the entertainment there is. It is really
it's a way to find again the curation, to make it,
to make it simple in the use. What's definitely a
bigger effort than to make everything adjustable because you have
to make decisions. It can be also in the luxury
(38:42):
segment really helpful to build up, but you have to invest.
And the real task is it's just the size of
the company because we're a small volume and if you are,
the competition is coming from premium because there's high volume,
a lot of engineering capacity and to keep that level
(39:06):
this is really demanding. And again this benefit as we
have resources in the group we can use and benefit from.
And then we have to find a Bentley way in
an interpretation of a digital user interface to not just
have something what is replaceable. Do you feel that there
will come rise ideas with our next card that we
(39:30):
will present, I would say it's really very very good
ideas people have been very soughtful.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I was thinking, does the Bentley buyer expect Bentley to
be at the forefront of that or not necessarily.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I don't think it's expected to be at the forefront,
but it's expected to be on ice level. You want
to use your car play, you want to connect your phone.
This has just to work. Also, the driver assistance systems
they're getting, they have more and more impact on the driving,
(40:08):
and people expect that they work flawless. From traffic sign
recognition to lane keeping, all these things have to work. Yet, No,
we don't have to be the first, but you have
to keep the pace.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
I look around the other brands in your stable and
the Volkswagen stable, and I think of the successes, like
the RS six that I'm driving right now. By the way,
they've done a really good job of haptic feedback and
controlling things through screens without making it annoying. But obviously,
(40:45):
I think a lot of people would like to go
back to buttons for things, especially like HVAC and volume.
I look at the GT three with the touring and
I obviously love the tactile manual transmission. I'm not suggesting
that Bentley has to do something like that, But can
you break away from can you give us a shooting break?
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Can you This whole conversation was going to come to
that court. Well, I do.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
The honest truth is when I look when I woke
up this morning and I looked at the super Sports,
the front was clearly in view and the the rear
end of it was kind of in the distance, and
I could imagine it. I sort of thought of it,
And I also happened to love. I love everything from
the clown shoe to the f F and I'm in
(41:35):
the R S six right now, so I think about
that right especially.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
I like to discuss this really in the US, he
is a wagon. No one buys a wagon. Why no one,
I don't know, but it's it's everybody, all the car
enthusiasts we needed, we needed, we needed. Once the cars
on the market, nobody buys it.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Well, it's because they just default and buy an suv.
If SUVs weren't optional, it's an arms race, and you're
worried about has won. But if we remove the suv option,
then everyone would get wagons.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
After one hundred I don't know, one hundred and forty
years of car development, one hundred and fifty years we
have came up the best body form. The body style
is a sui. Well, that's the biggest market. How about this?
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Will you do?
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Will you do more of the one offs of the
high dollar custom projects that your English competition has been
doing that your Italian competition has been doing. It results
in big margins and also results in a lot of
fans too. A lot of times if you get the
right buyer or if it's shown in the right place,
(42:45):
you know.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
The keys as you say, the right buyer is the
right place. But you need a little bit also technically spoken,
you need a good platform to do so. If you
have a meat engine, carb and fiber hang on body,
it's very easy because keep the easy in. But it's
easier because you have a spine and then you put
a new body on it, and then you call it
a something and there's a demand in the market because
(43:12):
it's unique cast it's coming from the factory and it's
it's great stuff and great business. Would it fit well?
Number one to Bentley's technical background, we have more. It's
harder to realize and if you do, it has to
be readly done properly. I see for the Bentley ideas
(43:34):
and for our offer, the sweet spot is more in
the area of super sports, so means higher volume, higher
price point, but limited run. That could be more exciting
for us.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Well, it is pretty darn exciting just from looking at
and reading the numbers.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
I have one final question for Frank. What have you
learned in your year Bentley or what surprised you.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
From seven Housing the crew?
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Yes, because I have to imagine it is it's different.
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Yeah, for sure, it's it's not only another company, it's
another country, it's another culture. I learned a lot I
think about the culture. I had a coach, business coach
that helped me on a regular base and I exchanged
my feelings and learnings and everything and it was good. Ignored
(44:31):
the sometimes directions how to deal with the bread. Yeah,
but this is no, this is not a problem and Bentley, No,
really not. And Bentley has a number one A welcoming culture.
People are really open minded and integrate people relatively quick.
And they know how to deal with the Germans. For
(44:52):
twenty five years, well they make longer. They're coming in
all the time. No, no, no, this is this was the
easier part. For sure. You have to learn what can
the company do what we are the capabilities where it's
maybe points where you can improve. How does the whole
system work, How does the sales work, how does the
(45:13):
financial things work? You learn an overview and to get
the right things. On the other hand, you have to
act immediately until you have no time, so you cannot
make an analysis and then reflect and then go on.
So we did. The whole strategic work was done within
eight weeks. The team was supportive, and then we changed
(45:35):
the direction. We looked at the electrification, we looked at
the offer of the hybrids, and a lot of learnings
for me, and then we immediately started new projects immediately,
so this after twelve weeks, we started with the next
next projects, the next programs, so that was really a
quick start. I would say it worked pretty well with
(45:56):
the integration. My colleagues could could judge that better, but no,
I think it's it worked and I also embraced it
and liked it. I liked the complexity in the job
to have this overarching responsibility. I think we have a
really really good team in the board and with our
(46:17):
our extended management team together, very trustful, open minded, a
good culture in Bentley that is that is open minded
and the small team is nimble and agile. What I
like this is my raising genes too.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
To go through and then stay light on your feet.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Yeah horse power, right, I like that exactly.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Well, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
Please come back if you're a year from now. We
should do this twice a year.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
Once again. Our thanks to Bentley CEO Frank Stefan Wallacer.
He is truly an awesome dude. And by the way,
he also had PR with him. Each of them knew
everything about every generation of every folks slacking vehicle. So
like a really smart team.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
They've got a tight operation. Let me tell you they
run a tight ship over there.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
I want to have those guys on as guests, like
we can't have a PR person on as a guest.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
But no, no, it wouldn't be proper. But there are
a couple PR people and one of the PR people
with Frank who joined their couple that I want to
write a book. And I know they never would because
they're discreet and professional, but you know that they know
so much and have so many interesting stories. I'd love
(47:42):
to read that book.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
Yeah, they know where the bodies are buried and they
have such deep knowledge. I know, so very cool to
have them here in studio.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
Yeah, that does it for this week's show. Remember to
follow and subscribe to Bloomberg Hot Pursuit on Apple Spot
and anywhere else you listen. Please leave us a rating,
maybe five stars if you feel like it.
Speaker 2 (48:06):
I'm not your mom.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Be what you want?
Speaker 2 (48:08):
Four we go?
Speaker 3 (48:09):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (48:09):
Four would be go?
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Yet? Fine? We'd accept, We'd accept, or just leave a comment.
It helps new listeners find the podcast and join the community,
and you can also send us your comments by emailing
us at Hot Pursuit at Bloomberg dot net.
Speaker 2 (48:24):
And check out Hannah's columns and stories on Bloomberg dot
com and on the Bloomberg Business app. Go there for
car reviews, events and stories that you won't find anywhere else.
From a unique perspective. Find it all at Bloomberg dot com,
slash Pursuits, slash autos plus.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
We do tend to share pictures, videos, and more from
the podcast on our Instagram. For instance, I'm actually joining
from Las Vegas today. I'm here for the F one
Grand Prix. You can find me on Instagram at Hannah
Elliott XO.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
And I'm Matt Miller nineteen seventy three. Thanks for listening,
we'll be in your podcast feeding and next week Happy Thanksgiving.
Hosts And Creators
Hannah Elliott
Matt Miller
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