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Bugatti EV Considered, “Speed Will Be Far Less Important”

Bugatti made the rounds at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show with the modern interpretation of the Type 57 SC Atlantic. A Chiron in disguise, the one-off that costs 16.7 million euros also happens to be a mockup, not the real deal.
Bugatti Divo 11 photos
Photo: Bugatti
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But following La Voiture Noire, the Divo, and Chiron, where does Bugatti go to next? Stephan Winkelmann “would see us doing a battery electric vehicle," and “speed will be far less important.” Wait a minute, come again?

Speaking to Automotive News Europe, the head honcho of the French automaker claims “the balance between performance and comfort is much more important, and it's about daily usability. This is what I see.” Given that the days of the quad-turbo W16 are numbered, there’s no denying the ever-stringent emissions regulations will force Bugatti to think outside the box.

Stepping outside one’s comfort zone is hard, but doing so as an automaker specialized in thousand-horsepower hypercars relying solely on internal combustion is even harder. But thanks to the Volkswagen Group, electric technologies are easy to acquire and adapt to Bugatti specifications.

“Winkelmann declined to give additional specifics about the cost, chassis, and performance of the potential car but said the company has already begun analyzing the prospect,” concludes the report. In other words, all options are on the table as long as the Volkswagen Group agrees to further synergize with Bugatti.

Audi and Porsche are co-developing the PPE as we speak, a vehicle architecture that will supersede the J1 in the Taycan. The next generation of the Macan is confirmed to feature the Premium Platform Electric, and there’s more coming from other brands in the group. Could Bugatti make use of the PPE? Only time will tell.

Looking at the bigger picture, the biggest challenger for Bugatti would be to stand out from other EVs in the ultra-luxury segment. Not through luxuriousness, but through brand, range, and exotic technologies such as Level 5 autonomous driving. "Whatever the technology of the day is, Bugatti would be expected to take it up a notch," declared Matt DeLorenzo, senior managing editor for Kelley Blue Book.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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