New design chief Andreas Mindt to take Bentley into electrified future

LONDON: Bentley Motors announced on Tuesday the appointment of Andreas Mindt as design director, starting March 1.

He succeeds Stefan Sielaff who has left the company after nearly six years to pursue other opportunities.

With more than 25 years of automotive design experience, all within the Volkswagen Group, Mindt was most recently Head of Exterior Design for Audi. In this six-year period, he oversaw the exterior design evolution of the breadth of the Audi model range, and the launch of the premium SUV coupé, the Audi Q8, and the e-tron, Audi's first full-electric production model.

Working at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, Britain, Mindt will lead a team of 50 design experts with responsibility for the exterior, interior and colour and trim design for the full current and future Bentley product portfolio, concept and showcars.

“Bentley is a jewel within the Volkswagen Group. Designing a car, and a future, is always a process based on the performance of many, not one, and so I look forward to working with my colleagues to help define the next phase for Bentley, into an electrified future,” said Mindt.

He will report to Dr Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s Board Member for Engineering.