In particular, the role of Ferdinand Piech, chairman of Volkswagen's supervisory board, is muddying the waters.

BBC: NEWS | Business | Unstoppable Porsche unveils fastest car yet

Its previous chief executive, Ferdinand Piech , spent billions of dollars pushing VW up the income scale.

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VW's boss, Ferdinand Piech, said he had enough luxury brands and was not interested in buying another.

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But analysts are highly skeptical that the families, which include Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech , have or will go beyond that threshold anytime soon.

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But analysts are highly skeptical that the families, which include Volkswagen (other-otc: VLKAF - news - people ) chairman Ferdinand Piech , have or will go beyond that threshold anytime soon.

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The rapid expansion has raised concerns about whether Winterkorn and his boss, Supervisory Board Chairman Ferdinand Piech, have overindulged, amassing an industrial empire that is too complex to manage efficiently, especially in a fragile economy.

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More than a decade ago, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, commissioned a vanity project to rival the pyramids: to resurrect the great French luxury and racing marque Bugatti, right down to Ettore Bugatti's l'orangerie in Molsheim, in Alsace, France, and build there the greatest sports car of all time, with no compromise.

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Mr Piech is also the grandchild of Ferdinand Porsche who founded the sports car maker and whose family still controls the firm.

BBC: NEWS | Business | Unstoppable Porsche unveils fastest car yet