Volkswagen has appointed Jost Capito as the new managing director of its “R” performance division.
The 58-year-old returns to the Wolfsburg automaker after a short stint as CEO of McLaren Racing. In 2012, of course, Capito was appointed director of motorsport at Volkswagen brand and led the VW team to first place in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Capito succeeds Ulrich Riestenpatt gt. Richter, who had been managing director of the R division since 2009.
VW describes its R division as the “competence centre for design- and performance-oriented products”. Capito will also head up Volkswagen Zubehör GmbH, which is responsible for developing and marketing vehicle accessories.
The engineering graduate first worked for the Volkswagen Group in the Porsche racing department in 1989. He also managed the Sauber Formula 1 racing team from 1996, before joining Ford in 2001, where he oversaw the development of the very first Focus RS.
