Bugatti is at a turning point in its history: It will end production of the Chiron and the W16 engine that powers it in the coming years. What’s next remains a little murky, but the company confirmed that it’s not planning on releasing an electric car or an SUV for at least 10 years.
“A purely electric version is not included in our 10-year plan for Bugatti. There will also be no SUV,” said Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac in an interview with industry trade journal Automobilwoche. “If it’s comparable, then it’s not a Bugatti,” he added, citing the firm’s founder.
His comments put an end to the rumors that have hovered around Bugatti since Croatia-based Rimac purchased a controlling stake in July 2021. Rimac made a name for itself by developing high-performance EVs, and some feared it would leverage its expertise to launch a range of badge-engineered battery-powered Bugatti models. Rimac ruled out badge engineering early on and stressed the two brands won’t overlap, though its CEO predicted that “within this decade there will be a fully electric Bugatti” shortly after the purchase was announced.
Bugatti has started developing the Chiron’s successor and Autoblog confirmed in August 2022 that the model will be powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Rimac stopped short of revealing precise technical details about the yet-unnamed model but told Automobilwoche his team hopes to increase the system’s electric-only range from approximately 12 miles in some gasoline-electric hypercars to 30 miles.
More details about Bugatti’s future should emerge in the coming months. In the meantime, the company has its work cut out for the coming years: it needs to finish production of the Chiron, build the track-only Bolide, and make the 99 planned units of the sold-out Mistral (pictured).
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