Bugatti: will the mysterious hypercar be electric or a track extreme?

The French brand was also talked about for the purchase proposal by the Croatian manufacturer Rimac, specialized in electric supercars. The decision could come before the end of 2020

In Molsheim, in Alsace, where Bugattis are produced with care and a method of high craftsmanship, these days there is an air of fibrillation. The Veyrons have been produced on the exclusive site for over ten years. Then it was the turn of the Chiron. But now from the production building, a structure of over one thousand square meters inaugurated in 2005, right next to the historic villa of the founder Ettore Bugatti, Chateau St. Jean, we are on the eve of the launch of the umpteenth hypercar, with the car that will come unveiled on Wednesday 28 October.

–

LET’S TAKE A STEP BACK

—

The Volkswagen Group seems to be in talks to sell Bugatti to Rimac and that the operation is at an advanced stage, so much so that a decision on this should be taken by the end of the year. Links between the Volkswagen universe and the Croatian brand that makes electric sports models already existed. In fact, Porsche owns a stake in Rimac, having initially acquired 10% in 2018 and another 5.5% the following year.

–

PORSCHE COULD BENEFIT

—

The Stuttgart company could benefit from the sale of Bugatti to Rimac by increasing its shares well beyond the current 15.5%. Moreover, the French brand in the past strongly desired by Ferdinand Piech who considered it a real flagship is now far from the interests of the Volkswagen Group, which wants to concentrate all resources on electrification, digitalization and autonomous driving. For the German manufacturer, making ties with Rimac would mean accessing a know-how on the precious and useful electric to keep up with competitors such as Tesla’s Americans.

–

RIMAC

—

Rimac is a small and young company, but which has developed specific skills. Founded in 2009 near Zagreb, today it has over 700 employees, all specialized in high-performance electric mobility. After the 2011 Concept One in small series, the C Two coupe was then unveiled which, however, has yet to go into production. To carry out its future projects, therefore, at Rimac they need production facilities. And precisely those of Molsheim, the headquarters of Bugatti, could be the case, if of course the negotiations for the sale of the French brand were to be successful.

–

A HYPERCAR IS COMING

—

The announcement – which could not have been more cryptic – of a new Bugatti sports car set for 28 October had hinted that it could even be an electric one made in partnership with Rimac. But probably the next sports car of the French brand will be a very extreme track car. With such a car the goal could be to take home the fastest lap on some of the most famous and iconic tracks in the world, such as the Nürburgring.

–