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Dr Ulrich Eichhorn

Engineer

Growing up in his family’s fuel station, later a car dealership, Uli spent time there when he should have been at school, but claims to have learned more. After studying mechanical engineering and also doing his doctorate at Darmstadt Technical University, he was hired by Ford as a Vehicle Dynamics Engineer. 

Happily this was the period when Richard Parry-Jones had started to transform the way Fords drove and Uli rose quickly through the ranks. Finally poached by Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch, Uli was put in charge of VW Group research – ‘A fantastic playground for a creative engineer, but one where you also have to deliver the goods’ – and then as the Board Member for Engineering at Bentley. After the Dieselgate scandal he became the Volkswagen Group’s Chief Technical Officer for a number of years.

Uli does not only enjoy his own cars, but has great appreciation for any that really drive well, are well thought through and true to their character. His private garage includes numerous examples of these. 

First car:

BMW 2002 – spoiled me forever

Professional hero:

Dr Ferdinand Piëch and Richard Parry-Jones. I’m proud that both were my bosses and mentors

Fondest driving memory:

23 Alpine Passes in five days in a very competent sports car

"In engineering, just like in most other disciplines, the concept defines the potential, but the detail execution determines the actual result – so you need to get them both right. Even genius does not replace diligence"

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Stories by Dr Ulrich Eichhorn

Breaking the ice record

Doing 200mph is one thing, but doing it on ice is quite another. Dr Ulrich Eichhorn recalls his part in one of the maddest record attempts ever

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What’s in a name?

When it comes to cars, a series of protocols MI6 would be proud to decode. Just as well Dr Ulrich Eichhorn is here to unpick it all for you

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Scoop?

Manufacturers usually try very hard to deter spy photographers. But sometimes they don’t try hard at all. Here’s why. By Dr Ulrich Eichhorn

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The longest-lived engine of all

Former Bentley engineering boss Dr Ulrich Eichhorn recalls the rise, fall, rebirth and final retirement of the Rolls-Bentley V8, and how he turned it up to 11

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The democratisation of fine handling

How a team from Ford in the 1990s changed the way its cars drove and, in time, many, many others too. Dr Ulrich Eichhorn was one of their number

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The Continental GT and me

Twenty years ago the Continental GT transformed both Bentley and its market. Dr Ulrich Eichhorn remembers how a modern British icon was created

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5000 miles at 200mph

Over 20 years ago, a team set a series of outright speed records that stand to this day. It was led by our newest contributor Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, and this is its story

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