August the 29th, 2026 – Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac has discussed the future of super cars, the situation at Bugatti and the technology current and future buyers are turning towards.
“The automotive industry is a bit like the watch industry. Digital and smart watches have taken over most of the market, while expensive Swiss mechanical watches remain popular among the wealthy” explained Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti. He added that the super car market is entering its “Swiss watch phase.” Poslovni reports that he claims that the wealthiest buyers are turning their backs on high technology and electric vehicles in favour of precision mechanics and handcrafted details.
Rimac, who took over Bugatti back in 2021, said that the car market is splitting into two parts: the main global car market is beginning to be dominated by cheaper electric vehicles, many from China, while the very top of the car market will be led by wealthy buyers who prefer “old” cars with loud internal combustion engines and emotional appeal, according to CNBC.
“For normal cars, for normal people, the vast majority will be electric,” Rimac said. “The upper segment, like sports cars and above, will ‘burn’ for a long time, just like watches. Only about 5 percent of watches are produced in Switzerland, but 90 percent of the profit is made there. An Apple Watch or any kind of smartwatch can do many more things. But no one will pay 200,000 dollars for that.”
a totally new vehicle
The hybrid Tourbillon has an 8.3-litre V16 engine that delivers 1,000 horsepower, combined with electric motors for a total of 1,800 horsepower. When the Rimac Group took control of Bugatti from Porsche and Volkswagen in 2021, many expected the newly formed Bugatti Rimac Group to launch an electric Bugatti. Instead, Rimac built a completely new car powered by one of the largest internal combustion engines ever made for a production car. The hybrid Tourbillon has an 8.3-litre V16 engine that delivers 1,000 horsepower, combined with electric motors for a total of 1,800 horsepower.
“It’s a bit ironic that I’m now making the largest internal combustion engine in the world,” he said. “Now you have a crazy situation in our plant in Croatia. On the same production line, you have the most powerful electric car in the world being built right next to the world’s largest internal combustion engine. Life is sometimes strange.” Bugatti will produce only 250 Tourbillons, which are sold out at a starting price of around $4.5 million. Rimac said that the average Tourbillon buyer adds an extra $600,000 to $700,000 in personalisation options, such as special colours, leather, stitching, and other design features.
The rise of personalisation and customisation has become one of the biggest profit drivers for super car companies like Bugatti, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. Super car companies are also launching special one-off cars for their customers that can cost tens of millions of dollars. At Monterey Car Week, Bugatti presented its latest model called Destrier. Rimac said that customisations and unique examples reflect the desire of today’s wealthy to have objects that show their identity. A staggering two billion dollars is the price for which Porsche AG sold its 45 percent stake in Bugatti Rimac back in April.
maintaining exclusivity
“Those clients want something that is truly theirs, that is connected to them, that tells their story, their personality, their preferences, not just as a car. There’s a whole story behind it.” Mate Rimac said that his goal for Bugatti is to continue increasing production, quality, and profit while maintaining exclusivity. He said production will never be higher than “low three-digit numbers.” The company made 200 million euros in profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation last year and will continue to grow, Rimac said.
Porsche AG agreed to sell its 45 percent stake in Bugatti Rimac back in April to a global consortium led by HOF Capital. While some reports put the valuation of Bugatti at over 1.1 billion dollars, Rimac said the price was “significantly higher” than 2 billion dollars. “What I want to do is produce the best cars in the world, the most exciting cars in the world, and have the most profitable car company in the world on a percentage basis,” he concluded.
