A Combustion Rimac Is On The Cards Due To Weak EV Hypercar Demand

Rimac has made a name for itself with bonkers fast electric hypercars, but it seems the brand’s future lies elsewhere. Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car event recently, Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac noted that development started on the Nevera “when electric was cool,” but since then, there’s been a shift in the market, he reckons.

Now electric cars are becoming mainstream, well-to-do buyers don’t necessarily want the same thing. “People at the top end of the sector want to differentiate themselves,” he says. That’s why Bugatti Rimac is developing a car powered by an all-new V16 – the company would sell a decent number of electric Bugatti models owing to the draw of the brand, but “nowhere near” as many sales as anticipated for the combustion car.

Mate uses the luxury watch industry to illustrate the point. “An Apple Watch can do everything better [than an analogue timepiece]. It can do 1,000 more things, it’s a lot more precise, it can measure your heart rate. But nobody would pay $200,000 for an Apple Watch.”

And so, don’t bank on the next Rimac-branded product being an EV. “Rimac isn’t exclusively electric; it’s doing whatever is most exciting at the time,” Mate said. It wouldn’t necessarily be petrol-powered, though, with Mate mentioning LPG, hydrogen and diesel as possible fuels for a future Rimac hypercar. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a derivative of the new V16 end up in a Rimac – engineering an all-new engine is no mean feat, and the company will likely try and get the most out of the development costs.

Bugatti V16 engine

As for the Nevera EV hypercar, Mate says there is a market for it, but several years on from its reveal, the car is a long way from selling out, with only 50 of the planned production run of 150 snapped up so far.

It’s certainly not wanting for power, with an obscene 1,888bhp on tap from its quad-motor powertrain, but it seems the world’s super-rich have been reluctant to stump up the £1.7 million price tag when there are plenty of alternatives powered by more old-fashioned, ‘analogue’ means. 

Via Autocar