Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac, at the Future of the Car conference organized in London by the Financial Times, revealed interesting details regarding the new Bugatti V16 petrol engine and future Bugatti and Rimac models. The main news is that Mate Rimac no longer believes in electric cars!
The merger of Rimac Automobili and Bugatti Automobiles was officially announced in the summer of 2021. The new merged company Bugatti Rimac is led by renowned Croatian innovative entrepreneur Mate Rimac, considered one of the pioneers of electrification in the supercar segment, however, as it turned out this week, Rimac is no longer an adherent of electric vehicles.
The global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles began last year, and Mate Rimac noticed a cooling in the supercar segment even earlier — almost as soon as he took the helm of the Bugatti Rimac. The French brand Bugatti went to him along with projects for future models: before the merger with Rimac, the Bugatti brand was completely owned by the Volkswagen concern, he imposed electrification on all subsidiary brands, and therefore it was assumed that the next new basic road model of Bugatti after the Chiron would be an all-electric cross-coupe .
Mate Rimac driving a Bugatti Chiron
Through Bugatti Rimac's junior shareholder Porsche, Volkswagen retains indirect control over Bugatti, so Rimatsu had to make some efforts to convince VW bosses that the idea of an all-electric Bugatti was so-so. According to Rimac, electrification in the automotive industry has become too widespread and has lost exclusivity — therefore, it is necessary to change the approach and offer something fundamentally different under the Bugatti brand than just another heavy-duty electric car.
As an example, Rimatz cited manufacturers of elite mechanical watches: they are bought for huge amounts of money, although the much cheaper Apple Watch electronic watches are no less accurate and have a lot of additional functions that a classic chronograph does not have. But the classic chronograph is still cooler because of its exclusivity and analog sensations, it is a work of art and an example of precision mechanics. New Bugatti models should be in this sense similar to the best chronographs and, if necessary, offer technologies that are outdated from the point of view of the overall evolution of the automotive industry — hence the new V16 engine, officially announced in February this year.
According to Mate Rimac, quoted by the British magazine Autocar, the new V16 will be naturally aspirated, which will provide it with the most noble sound, and its overall length will be about one meter, which is about 40 cm longer than the length of the 8.0-liter supercharged W16 engine that is installed on Veyron, Chiron and their derivatives. The new V16 will operate as part of a hybrid powertrain, the maximum combined output of which will be well over 1000 hp. In addition, the successor to the Chiron will receive some unique powertrain. The first public display of this new product is expected this coming summer.
Mate Rimac next to the electric supercar Rimac Nevera
Mate Rimac sees no need to part with the internal combustion engine in connection with the Bugatti brand, so the V16 engine is likely destined for a long life. It is curious that the new Rimac models will not be traditional electric cars, so the Rimac Nevera supercar will be the last of its kind. The Rimac brand will continue to rely on innovative technologies, it’s just that Mate Rimac is not yet ready to say in which direction Rimac models will develop: various options for hydrogen engines, gas fuel and even diesel are being considered! The CEO of Bugatti Rimac is definitely not going to make technical clones under two different brands, and this, in our opinion, is great news.
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