Ferrari's former chief engineer, Roberto Fedeli, is moving to BMW.

A BMW spokesman said Fedeli would join the company in November, but did not specify the position he would fill.

Fedeli resigned from Ferrari last month, marking the end of his 25-year stint with the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer.

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Fedeli started to work for Ferrari in 1988. He took the helm of the engineering department in 2007.

Fedeli has been credited with overseeing the development of several award-winning Ferrari models like the F12 Berlinetta, 458 Italia and LaFerrari.

News that he is leaving the company comes just days before Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is set to vacate his post.

But a Ferrari spokesman dismissed speculation that Fedeli's decision to leave the company had to do with di Montezemolo's resignation.

di Montezemolo, 67, announced in September that he was stepping down to give way to Ferrari's transition into a new era.

Referring to Fiat's upcoming listing on the New York Stock Exchange, di Montezemolo said he believed that in this new era, control of Ferrari should be in CEO Sergio Marchionne's hands.

"Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street," di Montezemolo said in a statement. "This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the group."

With regard to BMW's decision to hire Fedeli, industry experts say it is a sign that the Munich-based firm is making a serious effort to keep rival German automakers Audi and Mercedes-Benz at bay.

With Fedeli on the team, BMW is looking to launch a high-performance sports car that can match the Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT, according to Reuters.

BMW remains Germany's no. 1 premium car manufacturer.  But Audi, closing in on second spot, and Daimler-owned Mercedes-Benz, ranked third, are not far behind, both buoyed by robust demand for new models.

Tagsferrari, BMW, audi, mercedes benz, Roberto Fedeli, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Sergio Marchionne