[5] In the same year, he initiated the development of a car for the World Rally Championship, which led to the creation of the Audi Quattro with its four-wheel drive system.
At the time, Audi (and the Audi-derived VW Passat/Santana model range) used longitudinally mounted inline engines and front-wheel drive.
More conventional layouts with six cylinders, such as a V6 engine or a straight-six, were dismissed due to production costs or packaging limitations, as the latter would not fit with front-wheel drive configurations.
In 1993, Piëch moved to the parent company of Volkswagen AG, becoming the Chairman of the Board of Management, succeeding Carl Hahn.
Volkswagen was on the brink of bankruptcy at that time, but Piëch played a central role in orchestrating a dramatic turnaround.
Under Piëch's leadership, Volkswagen consolidated an array of mid-sized and premium vehicle brands such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Skoda, SEAT, Scania, and MAN under the VW Group umbrella.
According to Piëch, this strategy aimed to enhance these brands' status and reputation by leveraging Volkswagen's engineering, design expertise, and commitment to quality.
He also made significant moves into acquiring other marques, securing Lamborghini for Audi and establishing Bugatti Automobiles SAS.
In recognition of his continued influence in the automotive industry, Automobile Magazine awarded Piëch their Man of the Year accolade in 2011.
After focusing mainly on producing small 2,000 cc (120 cu in) race cars that were intended to closely resemble road cars, Porsche made a bold and risky move by unexpectedly constructing twenty-five 5,000 cc (310 cu in) Porsche 917s, catching the rule makers at the FIA off guard.
However, Piëch was not granted the opportunity to complete this project, as a turbocharged version of the existing 12-cylinder engine proved to be simpler, more powerful, and highly successful.
Three decades later, as CEO of Volkswagen Group, Piëch championed the development of the extraordinarily ambitious Bugatti Veyron, featuring a turbocharged W16-cylinder engine with 1,001 horsepower (746 kW) and a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph).
[11] An engineer by trade, Ferdinand Piëch was both known for his intricate involvement in product development from a technical standpoint, as well as his domineering personality.
Automotive blog Jalopnik said of Piëch, "He is the mad genius behind much of Porsche and Audi's racing successes as well as VW's all-out engineering and luxury push from the early 2000s.
Automotive News noted of this, "The company's slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik" was the personification of Piech – the belief that technology was the answer to all problems in the auto business.
"[16] Piëch often spearheaded the development of audacious vehicles or oversaw business decision and strategies that baffled analysts, but still proved beneficial for the company as a whole.
Long past the average retirement age, this gent greenlit one of the largest automotive losses in history and managed to keep his job.
Car and Driver writer John Phillips recounted how when he test drove the Volkswagen New Beetle during its launch in 1997, Piëch rode along and asked for his opinion on how its chassis and driving dynamics could be improved.
[18] Similarly, Piëch once demanded that an Automobile reviewer take the Volkswagen Phaeton up to its top speed while he rode along in the back seat.
[15] Lutz, CNBC, the American documentary TV series Dirty Money, among others, have claimed that the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is the result of the ruthless and tyrannical corporate culture Piëch installed at the company.