Volkswagen North America’s newest exec says the automaker is ready to have more fun with performance variants in its lineup, including expanding its lineup beyond the GTI and Golf R variants. “Damn right,” VW North America Chief Operating Officer Johan de Nysschen told Motor Authority on Thursday at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show. “Winning over the hearts and minds of enthusiastic opinion leaders in their own circle of associates (is good), and people who are car nuts tend to be drawn to those more aspirational models…If you have them in your portfolio, ultimately you raise brand appeal,” he said. De Nysschen last year joined Volkswagen of America after stints leading Cadillac and Infiniti down similar paths with high-performance models. Since his return to VW as COO, a role he said he helped create with VW North America boss Scott Keogh, de Nysschen said he has juggled the task of building the brand’s SUV lineup and regaining customers lost as a result of VW’...