Virgilio followed his father into engineering, despite his dad's death in a turbine accident. In fact that was probably the making of him, as he had to go out and support his family and trained to become an aviation engineer. After WW2, he moved into cars, and in the 1950's, worked on a number of engine designs for a range of cars. Apart from his engines, he is probably best remembered for his sporting management role with Opel, which he continued until 1986. Unfortunately his last years saw him suffer poor health, but he remained linked to the sport as much as he could. There is still a historic rally in his name today.

Biography last updated 10 Jul 2018