With the Mistral roadster and track-only Bolide, Bugatti has signaled the beginning of the end for the quad-turbo W16 powerhouse. The French marque is making 99 examples of the roofless hypercar and 40 units of its most extreme model. After that, the 8.0-liter engine will be no more as the company will downsize to an unknown engine. To support the rollout of the dynamic duo, the headquarters in Molsheim are being expanded.
Spanning 2,120 square meters (22,819 square feet), a new two-story facility will be up and running in the latter half of next year. It will also be used to support the arrival of new models “beyond the Chiron era.” Bugatti touts “performance-defining automobiles” are coming, but without going into details. We do know the elite marque wants to boost its workforce by over 50 percent by late 2027 to prepare for upcoming models in the new Bugatti Rimac era.
Bugatti Mistral Visits Southern France
The newly founded company has been tight-lipped about what will come after the Chiron runs its course. However, head honcho Mate Rimac did mention it’s going to have a “totally bonkers” internal combustion engine, adding that we’ll all be “blown away” when it is revealed. Development of the ICE actually started two years before the two companies inked a deal. As for the car itself – which is expected to employ a hybrid powertrain – the Croatian businessman mentioned it won’t share a single part with the Chiron as everything will be all-new.
Mate Rimac said the future Bugatti model “will be more beautiful [than the Rimac Nevera], analog instruments, kind of watch-making stuff.” Before the merger, the Volkswagen Group wanted to come out with an electric SUV, but Mate Rimac immediately pulled the plug on the project upon his arrival at the helm of the newly formed company. Bugatti’s parent company even toyed around with the idea of killing the brand altogether or selling it, Mate Rimac told Auto Express at the end of last year.
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