Next Bugatti Hypercar To Have "Totally Bonkers" Combustion Engine Developed By Rimac

Rimac started working on the ICE two years before the merger with Bugatti.

Bugatti Mistral

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Dec 16, 2022 at 2:34am ET

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With the Mistral and Bolide, Bugatti is formally bidding adieu to the 8.0-liter W16 engine. The quad-turbo powerhouse will have been more than 20 years old in 2024 when the peeps from Molsheim will deliver the final units of the roadster and track-only machine. What comes next? Rather than slapping the EB logo on a Nevera and calling it a day, the newly founded Bugatti Rimac company is developing a hypercar from the ground up.

Auto Express sat down and had a chat with Mate Rimac about what comes after the Chiron. Surprisingly, Rimac – which is known for its cutting-edge EV technology – started developing a combustion engine two years before merging with Bugatti. Touted as being a "hypercar rearranged as a hybrid," the next masterpiece will have a "totally bonkers" ICE, and the company's boss says we will all be "blown away" once the wraps will come off next year.

2024 Bugatti Mistral

The 34-year-old Croatian innovator and businessman pointed out Bugatti's next model will have no connections with existing models: "It's completely new, so there is not one part carried over from any car; nothing carried over from Chiron, nothing carried over from Nevera. Everything is from scratch.” Shockingly, Bugatti's original plan was to replace the W16 hypercar with a Ferrari Purosangue-like SUV but electric.

The differences between the next Bugatti and Nevera will extend beyond the powertrain, Mate Rimac explains:

"The Bugatti thing is more turn up to the opera and then drive 400 km/h (249 mph) on the Autobahn. It will be more beautiful, analog instruments, kind of watch-making stuff. With Rimac, we want it to be absolutely insane, bonkers, full-electric – drifting at 60 km/h (37 mph) with a gigantic cloud of smoke behind you, autonomous drift modes, futuristic stuff."

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Before the tie-up with Rimac, Bugatti was in a bit of a predicament as parent company Volkswagen Group even considered discontinuing the fabled French brand altogether or finding it a new owner: "VW had several options, including kill the brand or sell it to someone else."

Mate Rimac explains that after a decision was made for the two companies to merge, he immediately aborted the initial plan to launch an SUV, deciding instead to work on a hybrid hypercar. It'll be revealed next year, but with the Mistral and Bolide deliveries programmed for 2024, chances are the next Bugatti won't hit the streets until around 2025.

W16 Finale:

Bugatti Mistral Roadster Revealed As Spectacular W16 Epilogue

Bugatti Bolide Production Version Revealed As Track-Only W16 Beast

Source: Auto Express

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