Bugatti will diversify its range and inaugurate electrification following the signing of a partnership with electric vehicle specialist Rimac, but will continue to offer internal combustion engines in the long term.
The ultra-exclusive French brand is now part of the Croatia-based Rimac Group, after partnering with Rimac Automobili to form the new Bugatti Rimac LLC.
As part of this joint venture, Bugatti will have access to electric transmissions and components developed by Rimac for use in its future models. However, group CEO Mate Rimac has promised that the brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle will be more than just a revamped Rimac Nevera.
“What some people expect to happen is that we take a Nevera and click a Bugatti logo on it and call it a Bugatti,” he said. “It’s absolutely not going to happen. That’s not what we’re going to do. I’m a car guy, and while of course we want to make a profitable business, we won’t just recycle what we have.
“We’re not just going to redesign or hybridize the Chiron to create a new car. We’re developing an entirely new product from scratch, because we believe that’s the best way forward, and that product will always have a combustion engine. “
It is not yet known whether Bugatti’s long-standing quad-turbo W16, as used by the Veyron, Chiron and their derivatives, will be hybridized as part of this process.
Porsche President Oliver Blume, who is a member of the Bugatti Rimac supervisory board, said: “We will continue the business of the Chiron, and we already have ideas for new cars and to re-develop a whole product. very unique.
“We have listened very carefully to the Bugatti fans, and for the transition period we have an idea with more electrification while retaining a combustion engine. We are also thinking of electrification with a higher rating on Bugatti.”
In terms of lineup, Bugatti is poised to expand beyond the one-model strategy it has put in place since the EB110 launched in 1991, launching what Mate Rimac calls “products. which are not just hypercars “.
He stopped before confirming which segments these planned models would occupy, but promised they would be “very exciting” and “different,” with hybrid and pure-electric powertrains available throughout the portfolio.
“I can tell you that during this decade there will be fully electric Bugattis,” Rimac said. “But I can also tell you that by the end of this decade there will still be combustion engines – not all combustion, of course. [but] very strongly hybridized. ”
In early 2020, Bugatti CEO Stephan Winklemann told Autocar that a second Bugatti model would likely take a more “everyday” approach to positioning than the Chiron.
“I am convinced that we don’t have to make a car that is only for weekends. It is a car for everyday use. It must have a different shape [to the Chiron] and have a different mission, ”he said, adding that a second model line would require Bugatti to double its workforce and production capacity.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-05 16:25:03
