Porsche to take in Bugatti and team up with Rimac

VOLKSWAGEN Group management board chairman Herbert Diess has put an end to the months’ worth of rumours circulating as to the future of Bugatti, revealing the hypercar brand is being handed over to Porsche and more than likely to enter in a partnership with Croatian EV specialist, Rimac.

The revelation was made during the Volkswagen Group’s annual press conference when questions arose not only in regard to the future of Bugatti, but also Lamborghini, Ducati and even Porsche.

“I think we have seen a good allocation of brands within our group, because our decision was to take Bugatti to Porsche and then into a minority shareholding together with an e-car producer,” Mr Diess said.

“Porsche is currently preparing a partnership that is going to be under discussion with Rimac, and Porsche will be taking care of that.

“We believe the Bugatti brand will get an environment that is actually stronger than being here in Wolfsburg in the volume segment.

“We have more synergies over there, carbon-fibre bodies, high-performance batteries, so it’s in better hands over there.”

With Porsche having just increased its stake in Rimac from 15 to 24 per cent – a deal worth €70 million ($A107.7m) – the scene is now set for two of the most iconic sportscar and hypercar-makers to pool their resources with one of the leading lights of EV technology, resulting in any number of high-performance possibilities coming to the fore.

The most obvious and likely outcome will be the electrification of Bugatti, while Porsche has publicly stated before that Rimac is “well on its way to becoming a Tier 1 supplier for Porsche and other manufacturers in the high-tech segment”.

“Mate Rimac and his team are important partners, especially when it comes to supporting us in the development of components,” Porsche AG executive board deputy chairman Lutz Meschke said when announcing the increased stake.

“Porsche has already placed its first orders with Rimac for the development of highly innovative series components.”

Rumours of Bugatti and Rimac coming together have been swirling since September last year with the initial theory being that Volkswagen was looking to offload Bugatti – and all its remaining stock and facilities – in exchange for Porsche being given an up-to-49-per-cent stake in the rapidly advancing EV brand.

Porsche’s initial investment in Rimac was made in 2018 when it purchased 10 per cent of the brand before upping its stake a year later to 15 per cent.

Even with its now 24 per cent share hold, the German sportscar-maker does not have controlling influence, something Rimac founder and CEO Mate Rimac said was crucial.

“Porsche has been a big supporter of our company since 2018, and it has always been a privilege to have one of the world's most iconic sportscar brands be a part of Rimac,” he said.

“With many car manufacturers across the world being Rimac customers, it is important, both for Rimac and Porsche, that we remain an entirely independent business.”