Tourbillon drives electric
Mate Rimac personally tested the Bugatti Tourbillon Carbon Prototype V16 and showed it can start and drive in electric-only mode — a big step for Bugatti’s move into hybrid-electric hypercars (supercarblondie.com). Rimac has hinted future Bugattis may be built at Rimac’s Croatian campus, which could push output above today’s 40–50 cars per year (autohit.co.uk).
Rimac Technology engineered and integrated the Tourbillon’s 800V hybrid architecture — e‑axles, electronic control units and three high‑performance electric motors (two front, one rear) producing 800 hp collectively, fed by a 25 kWh T‑shaped battery with over 1,500 oil‑immersed cells and an ASIL‑D BMS. (rimac-newsroom.com) Bugatti has limited the Tourbillon to a 250‑unit run with a base price north of $4 million, pairing an 8.3‑litre naturally aspirated V16 with the electric system for a combined output around 1,775 hp. (supercarblondie.com) French weekly L’Argus reported senior managers are weighing partial assembly of future Bugatti models at Rimac’s Sveta Nedelja campus, a scoop that multiple trade outlets have repeated. (largus.fr) Analysts writing about the possible move say shifting even some assembly to Sveta Nedelja would let Bugatti scale production well beyond the marque’s current run of roughly 40–50 cars per year. (autohit.co.uk) Bugatti replied by reaffirming Molsheim as its operational and artisanal base, noting a recent ~€10 million investment to expand the Molsheim workshop, a workforce of more than 180 there, and that an initial plan could see chassis assembled in Croatia and finished by hand in France. (lejournaldesentreprises.com) Rimac’s Sveta Nedelja campus already contains phase‑one production capacity (75,000 m² of manufacturing space within a larger campus), houses Nevera assembly and prototype facilities, and is designed to ultimately accommodate up to 2,500 employees. (rimac-newsroom.com) Rimac’s track record in low‑volume hypercar production — including the Nevera programme and the planned 40‑unit Nevera R sub‑run within a ~150‑car family total — demonstrates existing capability to manufacture limited, high‑value series at the Croatian site. (motortrend.com)
