Bugatti gets new Director of Design

Bugatti has announced that its Head of Design, Achim Anscheidt, has retired from his role, bringing an end to a 19-year career that saw the stylistic evolution of the Bugatti brand.

He will be succeeded by Frank Heyl, although Bugatti states that Anscheidt's vision for the future of Bugatti - developed with Mate Rimac - will stay in place until around 2030. This vision, of course, includes the yet-to-be revealed successor to the Chiron, the design process for which has already been undergoing for the past two years, and is now scheduled for a reveal come 2024, before its official launch in 2026.

Anscheidt (pictured right) hand over the responsibility of leading Bugatti's design direction to Heyl (pictured left)

Anscheidt started his career as a motorcycle stunt acrobat before taking on a junior designer role at Porsche Design. He was then chosen to lead the Volkswagen Group’s advanced design operations in Barcelona and Berlin at a time when Bugatti was also under Volkswagen Group ownership.

In 2004, Anscheidt became Design Director at Bugatti, and worked on finalising the design of the Bugatti Veyron, before working on the design of models such as the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and the Veyron Super Sport. Anscheidt is also said to have pioneered the firm's move into the realm of bespoke craftsmanship, with the development of a host of special edition models.

Frank Heyl, meanwhile, joined Bugatti in 2008, and was involved in the design of vehicles including the Veyron Supersport, Vision Gran Turismo, the Chiron and the Divo. He was appointed Head of Exterior Design at Bugatti in 2014 and promoted to Deputy Design Director in 2019.