Barely a day after we’ve reported on the latest results of the struggle between Wiedeking and Ferdinand Piëch—head of VW's supervisory board—comes news that the 16-year company veteran has resigned with immediate effect, along with chief financial officer Holger Härter.

Don’t worry about them too much: should you squint against the evening skies of Zuffenhausen, you will spot Dr. Ing. Wiedeking floating serenely with the help of his $71 million golden parachute. Härter will have to make do with a measly $21M.

Wiedeking’s long reign saw Porsche transform itself from a maker of sports cars to a maker of sports cars and astonishingly ugly SUV’s, whose greatest profits came not from 911’s but from shorting Volkswagen to the tune of billions. That, of course, was before the Carpocalypse struck.

Porsche’s new CEO will be Michael Macht, the management board member responsible for production.

Now’s as good a time as any to gaze at our mega-gallery of the last Porsche of the Wiedeking era: the Panamera, owner of the strangest automotive ass since the 1980 Cadillac Seville.

Photo Credit: Miguel Villagran/Getty Images

Porsche had been on a roll and, using their advantage, attempted a VW takeover but then almost went bankrupt trying and had to be saved by a VW loan. Porsche is still in the hole to the tune of ten-billion Euros, so a VW deal would help overcome this. On the other hand, it's unclear what Ferdinand Piech, who both co-owns Porsche and serves as chairman of Volkswagen, wants to do.

At the end of the day, VW and Porsche are completely intertwined so owners of both companies (many of whom own both companies) will likely prosper from any outcome. [Reuters]

Photo Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images