Porsche, Bugatti and Rimac joint venture… all-electric 998 hypercar for 2028…

Porsche, Bugatti and Rimac are going to get a lot closer with a new joint venture in the autumn of 2021. The plan is to embed Bugatti into a still-to-be-founded IPO-funded Croatian company of which Rimac holds a 55 per cent majority and Porsche 45 per cent. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume sums it up: ‘It’s a perfect match. We’re about to bundle Bugatti’s hypercar expertise and Rimac’s innovation. Porsche also has a vested interest in the outcome of this co-operation – after all, the 918 Spyder may one day get a replacement.’

Under the new structure, Porsche effectively takes over all Bugatti responsibilities. Bugatti’s main assets are its global sales and service network, the cult status of its second-to-none products and the iconic brand image. Rimac’s prime strength is best demonstrated by the excellent new Nevera hypercar, driven in CAR last month, but what most wowed the Germans were the dramatically advanced batteries and the ultra-fast software implanted in a couple of converted Porsche plug-in hybrid demonstrators. Porsche understands the importance of state-of-the-art batteries; it’s working on units developed by Rimac for future hypercars and creating high-performance silicon cells with the German Cellforce group from 2024, but capacities are restricted to about 1000 cars a year.

Porsche’s progressive switch to EVs starts with the next Macan, then the Boxster and Cayman twins, then the 994-generation 911 going plug-in from 2023. The real revolution will be 2028’s Project 998, an EV with the potential for vast power, long range and rapid charging.

Rimac tech could spawn Porsche hypercar