With the Mistral and the Bolide, Bugatti formally says goodbye to the 8.0-liter W16 engine. The four-turbo powerplant will have been over 20 years old by 2024 when they deliver the final drives of the roadster and track-only machine. And contrary to what you expect after how to put the EB logo on a Refrigerator, the newly founded company bugatti rimac is developing a hypercar right from the start and will have a “totally crazy” engine.
Bugatti’s next hypercar will have a Rimac engine
Auto Express spoke with Mate Rimac about what comes after the Chiron. And surprisingly, Rimac, known for its cutting-edge EV technology, began developing an ICE engine two years before merging with Bugatti. Touted as a “hypercar revamped as a hybrid,” the upcoming masterpiece will feature a “totally crazy” ICE, and according to the company boss we’ll all “be blown away” once the wrappings are removed next year.
The 34-year-old Croatian businessman indicated that the next Bugatti model will have no connections to existing models: “It’s completely new, so there are no parts carried over from any car; nothing transferred from Chiron, nothing transferred from Refrigerator Everything is from scratch”. It is worth mentioning that Bugatti’s original plan was to replace the W16 hypercar with an SUV type Ferrari Purosangue but electric.
The differences between the next Bugatti and Nevera will extend beyond the powertrain, as Mate Rimac explains: “The Bugatti thing is more about going to the opera and then driving at 400 km/h (249 mph) on the Autobahn. It will be more beautiful, analog instruments, a kind of clockwork. With Rimac, we want it to be Absolutely crazy, crazy, completely electric: drift at 60 km/h (37 mph) with a gigantic cloud of smoke behind you, autonomous drift modes, futuristic stuff.”
Before the Rimac alliance, Bugatti was in a bind, as the parent company VW Group he even considered discontinuing the legendary French marque entirely or finding a new owner for it: “VW had a number of options, including removing the brand or selling it to someone else.”
Mate Rimac explains that after making the decision to merge the two companies, the initial plan to launch an SUV was aborted and he decided to work on a hybrid hypercar. It will be revealed in 2023, but with deliveries of the Mistral and Bolide scheduled for 2024, it’s likely that the next Bugatti won’t hit the streets until around 2025.
IT MAY INTEREST YOU:
- How much does it cost to maintain a Bugatti Chiron?
- When will the first electric Bugatti?
- Bugatti Bolide recognized as the most beautiful hypercar in the world
Fountain: engine1