Mate Rimac 'not playing Bugatti ownership safe'

At just 33 years-old, Mate Rimac now owns two of the world's most extreme automotive manufacturers – Rimac and Bugatti.

Last month, the Croatian became the CEO of Bugatti as his own company took a 55 per cent stake in the hypercar manufacturer, with Porsche holding the remaining 45 per cent share while also acquiring a 24 per cent stake in Rimac.

The new ownership agreement means Bugatti will be renamed to Bugatti-Rimac and will solely focus on electric vehicles in the future – although current production of the Bugatti Chiron is set to continue until the end of its lifecycle.

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In an interview with Bloomberg, Rimac said he wasn't planning to take a cautious approach with the future direction of Bugatti, and technology from his company could soon be found in Porsche's model line-up.

“The stakes are getting bigger, but I am not somebody to play it safe," said Rimac.

"Never. Not even close. So if there is going to be some friction with our shareholders and more experienced people that come into the company, it’s going to be that.

“We are already developing stuff that will be soon in high-volume – not special projects, but the mainstream.”

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It's worth remembering less than a decade ago, Mate Rimac was converting his old BMW E30 to run on electric power and now he runs the only Croatian car company – a career progression which isn't lost on the young entrepreneur.

“It feels really interesting when you think where we came from — this country has never had an automotive industry," he said.

“We had absolutely no idea what we were doing. And now our tech is in so many cars, and with Bugatti this whole thing is a huge responsibility.

“I was told by our big OEM customers, if you screw up, the next day we send 30 trucks, they pick up everything, you are dead.

“If you screw up and you don’t deliver, everything stands still, and then you are dead.”

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Under its portfolio, Bugatti-Rimac will have both the fastest accelerating car in the world – the Rimac Nevara, sub-two seconds 0-100km/h – and the unofficial holder of the production speed record title, the Bugatti Chiron.

Rimac will officially assume control of Bugatti from the fourth quarter of 2021, employing around 430 staff who will work across the Rimac headquarters in Zagreb and Bugatti's manufacturing plant in Molsheim.