zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Mate Rimac Stopped Bugatti From Building an Electric Crossover
Mate Rimac Stopped Bugatti From Building an Electric Crossover-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:01

Bugatti W16 Mistral

Bugatti Rimac is still a young company. It just 13 months ago when Porsche agreed to give Rimac in the storied hypercar maker in exchange for a stake in Rimac business. Now a little over a year after the merger, the company has big plans. And in some cases, as (via ) reports, that partnership has involved some things getting shot down.

Speaking to Auto Express, Bugatti Rimac’s CEO (and Rimac founder) Mate Rimac talked about how he wants the company to do amazing stuff. Like the which Rimac calls “bonkers.” While Rimac said that his company started developing a new engine not long after talks of his company taking control of Bugatti began, the Chiron successor will be special; a new hybrid hypercar.

“It will be rearranged as a hybrid. It’s completely new, so there is not one part carried over from any car; nothing carried over from Chiron, nothing carried over from Nevera. Everything is from scratch,” he said to .

Rimac also asked about developing larger cars, something that can fit more than two people. While he didn’t rule it out, he did speak to something with the performance of a hypercar while having four seats being difficult to make.

I think it’s a really interesting concept where you have basically a hypercar with four usable seats – I really like the Koenigsegg Gemera, for example – but this kind of car comes with a lot of complexities and limitations.” Adding more seats compicates things. Basically, when you do a car like that, if it’s low, the problem is with four seats you usually have very upright seating when you put people one behind the other. And then sports cars have long bonnets or rears for the engine or battery so the car becomes impossibly long. Then you have to go kind of -ish for the roof height and to get the proportions, which ruins the centre of gravity. That’s the real kind of challenge with this kind of car.”

While recent years have seen even and get in on the SUV game, don’t expect Rimac to. When asked about whether or not the company will make a hyper SUV, he shot it down, just like he shot down the idea of a Bugatti SUV, he admitted.

When I ask about an SUV Rimac stops me in my tracks. “No. Let’s say we don’t have a plan for a car like that. It was something we immediately stopped for Bugatti and we will go in a slightly different direction. That is a direction we will never take.”

It’s good to see that not everyone thinks SUVs are the answer to everything.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
Jul 6, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
Jul 6, 2025
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
Jul 6, 2025
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
Jul 6, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
Jul 6, 2025
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
Jul 6, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved