Exclusive! Bugatti comes after 100 years with a successor to the Royale

Bugatti is no longer part of the Volkswagen Group. Croatian electro pioneer Mate Rimac rules there. He spoke to Autovisie about the future of Bugatti. The most notable news: Rimac wants the aristocratic Bugatti Royale back.

According to Mate Rimac, it’s not difficult to distinguish between Bugatti and Rimac. “Rimac is very geeky. Young, crazy and wild. Bugatti is more about heritage. It’s an aristocratic brand. You’re not a hooligan or a drug lord driving around in a Bugatti. A Bugatti is also more analogue, like a Swiss watch.”

Ten-year plan for Bugatti

Rimac already has a ten-year plan for Bugatti ready, but he doesn’t want to go into detail about it. He says that after the Mistral there will be a one-off based on the Chiron. Then it’s over with the 8.0-liter W16 with four turbos. “I call that a top engine, but I’m not completely satisfied with it. The four turbos remove the noise.”

V10 for Chiron successor

The successor to the Chiron will therefore no longer have a turbocharger. Rimac wants to replace them with a hybrid system to increase performance but also to ensure an impressive exhaust note. Rimac doesn’t say which engine will replace the W16, but it gives clear indications in the direction of a high-revving V10.

“The successor to the Chiron will be completely new, every screw and every nut. It might not be the most efficient way to develop a car, but yeah… I’m a perfectionist. Also, I don’t want to spend my life building on something that already exists.”

New Bugatti Royale

Rimac wants to focus on body construction with Bugatti, even more than is already the case. There will also be models other than just a new Chiron. “I’m thinking of a luxury model,” says Rimac, “a new Royale, if you will. That was a technical masterpiece in 1928 with its eight-cylinder in-line engine and 24-inch wheels. A spaceship back then.”

Seven examples of the Royale were built between 1927 and 1933. The model was almost 6.5 meters long and weighed more than 3100 kilograms. Ettore Bugatti hoped to sell Twenty-Five, but the global recession prevented this. He used the Royale’s engine in a new locomotive for the French railways and still made a profit on the project.