Rimac Planning to Buy Bugatti?

Croatian supercar firm Rimac Automobili is reportedly in the process of acquiring Bugatti from Volkswagen. While rumors had been swirling that VW might offload a few of its brands in a bid to focus on electrification and emissions compliance, this is is the first time we’ve heard credible rumblings about real action being taken.

Considering the space Rimac occupies, adding the formerly French Bugatti brand also makes some amount of sense. We’d be a lot more skeptical if founder Mate Rimac was alleged to be making a move on SEAT because he suddenly found a passion for designing economy cars. But the prospective tie-up is more complicated than it seems at first blush. Volkswagen Group’s Porsche actually owns a 15-percent stake in Rimac so it can tap into some of its sweetest technical equipment for the purpose of building EVs.

While nothing is official, Reuters reported that Manager Magazin (the German business monthly) had a piece alleging the Bugatti sale would be a major topic among VW board meetings this year and that Mr. Rimac seemed the likely beneficiary of those talks.

We’re guessing Volkswagen is considering this because it has already lost a substantial amount of money this year and has to continue spending to progress the development of electric and/or autonomous vehicles (on which it has bet the farm). It also doesn’t make much sense to own Bugatti when it already has Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley — especially if the rumors that VW lost nearly $6 million on every Bugatti Veyron sold were true.

Deceased VW patriarch Ferdinand Piëch went well out of his way to acquire Bugatti, noting that it was more for his own pleasure than anything else. The ultra-premium brand was the fat ruby in Volkswagen’s crown as it went from the cusp of bankruptcy to the largest automaker in the world under Dr. Piëch’s leadership. But he’s no longer around to fight for one of his favorite projects, making it a probable sell as the company tightens its belt a few notches. If the Porsche-Piëch family can benefit from the existing corporate connections, we doubt they’ll mind.

[Image: Bugatti]