The following article appeared in
Der Spiegel on
19 Sept 2003 |
From the co-operation just agreed upon between Volkswagen and Ferrari
a lot more could easily follow - a participation of the Wolfsburg
company in the Italian sports car manufacturer, who also owns Maserati
.
At present Ferrari is a subsidiary of the beleagured Fiat company.
Should the latter plunge further into crisis and need fresh capital
then the Wolfsburgers - for an appropriate price - would be ready
for a takeover of Ferrari.
Already firmly agreed between Volkswagen boss Bernd Pischetsrieder
and Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo is that Volkswagen components
of its jeep platform Touareg will be supplied to Maserati for use
in its own off-roader. Volkswagen company Audi will also support
Maserati with technology and know-how in the use of aluminum. In
return Volkswagen wants Maserati wants to supply the platform of
the Quattroporte on which to possibly base a successor for the Phaeton
.
From this co-operation both enterprises can profit. And should
Ferrari once be for sale, then there's hardly a way past Volkswagen. |