Bugatti Rimac formed to create EV hypercar powerhouse

Two of the world’s fastest brands – Bugatti and Rimac – have joined forces to create an EV hypercar powerhouse.

And Porsche has a sizeable stake in the new venture, which looks set to create some of the world’s fastest and most exciting EVs.

Rimac overnight announced the formation of a new company called Bugatti Rimac, which will be 55 percent owned by the Croatian-based Rimac Group that has until now made most of its money from selling tech and components to other car makers. The announcement confirms months of rumours that Bugatti would be sold by Volkswagen.

The other 45 percent of the newly formed Bugatti Rimac is owned by Porsche, which also has a stake in the broader Rimac Group (which also has the Hyundai Group as a major shareholder).

Current Bugatti owner the Volkswagen Group made an announcement via the Bugatti media website, but the company will retain a part ownership in the boutique French brand moving forward through its ownership of Porsche, which produces the fastest EV currently on sale in Australia in the form of the Taycan.

Porsche has been building its stakes in Rimac since 2019 and it’s understood Rimac has provided expertise and enginerering input into a hybrid version of the legendary 911 that until now has not been slated for production.

“This is a truly exciting moment in the short, yet rapidly expanding history of Rimac Automobili,” said founder Mate Rimac, acknowledging the differences between the two companies.

“This new venture takes things to a completely new level. Rimac and Bugatti are a perfect match in terms of what we each bring to the table. As a young, agile and fast-paced automotive and technology company, we have established ourselves as an industry pioneer in electric technologies. With the Nevera, we have also proven that we can develop and manufacture outstanding hypercars, that are not only fast but also exciting and high-quality. Bugatti, with over a century of experience in engineering excellence, also possesses one of the most exceptional heritage of any car company in history.”

Bugatti to go EV … approaching 500km/h

The move all but confirms Bugatti will shift to an electric or electrified range in future, a major shift for a brand that in recent years has built its reputation on 400km/h-plus multi-million-dollar two-seaters powered by quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder engines.

Porsche chairman Oliver Blume gave some tantalising clues, while also suggesting Bugatti could learn from Rimac’s agility.

“We are combining Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac’s tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electromobility,” said Blume.

“Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organisational approaches.”

Rimac said “I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am by the potential of these two incredible brands combining knowledge, technologies and values to create some truly special projects in the future”.

One big question is how fast a new Bugatti EV could go.

The upcoming Rimac Nevera – which to some extent competes with the Bugatti Chiron – is claimed to top 412km/h.

That’s well shy of the 490.484km/h Bugatti record Bugatti set in 2019 with its Super Sport 300+.

It’s difficult to imagine any future Bugatti EV wouldn’t shoot for the magical 500km/h mark. After all, Mate Rimac loves a challenge…

Whether it does that as a pure EV or as a hybrid is for now not known.

While Rimac has provided its electric technology for hybrid applications previously – the Koenigsegg Regera uses a Rimac battery pack, as will the Aston Martin Valkyrie – its speciality is EV, including battery tech, electric motors and controls systems including software. Rimac also sells infotainment systems.

As a French brand with more than 110 years of history of building some of the world’s fastest and most exotic cars, there will no doubt be moves to ensure that heritage remains.

Bugatti will continue building cars – currently the Chiron and its various derivations – at its home town of Molsheim in the east of France.

Rimac the quiet EV achiever

Rimac has been a powerhouse in the world of high performance EVs.

And it all began when company founder Mate Rimac blew up the engine in his old BMW 3-Series while racing it on the track more than a decade ago.

A replacement engine was too expensive so he developed an electric drivetrain that soon went on to beat the ICE cars he was racing on the track.

He developed a thriving business that began supplying parts, technology and components to existing car makers.

Porsche and Hyundai/Kia bought stakes in the business, each with the view to leveraging Rimac’s expertise in batteries, electric motors and EV control systems including software.

Rimac also produced cars, but not many. The company has sold just eight of its Concept_One EV hypercars, one of which was destroyed in a high profile crash while being driven by former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond.