Bugatti's First Four-Seater Is an All-Electric Luxo-Missile That Wets Digital Dreams

Bugatti isn’t famous for its family-sized palette of automobiles - if you want the kids, siblings, or in-laws (but why?) to ride with you in a Bugatti, you buy a second one. (Be mindful that some millionaires will extend this logic to their wives and purchase a color-matching hypercar for their significant other).

However, we’re playing on the field of pure speculative fantasies here, so the idea of a money-flooded family that actually spends time together is allowed. We can even push the boundaries of thought to touch environmentalism, planet-saving lore, and even forward-thinking engineering. Or, in other words, an all-electric Bugatti sedan.

Remember, this is a study in imaginative processes, so anything is permitted – take the following conceptual design as an example. Sehun Park is a student at the University of Coventry and the author of the following proposal. Roaming the realms of social media under the sehuncar nome-de-guerre, the digital artist points out the elephant in the Bugatti showroom: the electric hypercar that isn’t.

A couple of years back, when Rimac joined forces with the German brand (Bugatti was part of the VW Group), the world immediately assumed that something was coming. By ‘something,’ I mean an exciting electric hypercar bearing the historic name. To everyone’s surprise, the Croatian lightning bolt automotive company that produces the Nevera announced that we won’t see a BEV Bugatti this decade.

We couldn’t care less if the decision has to do with the sales of the Rimac Nevera, but that’s not the point. (Also, imagine the laugh the whole world would have had if an electric Bugatti were to suddenly drop dead in the cold because the electricity froze in it. Some Tesla owners in the Great Lakes area can testify to this horrendous downside of EV ownership).

Anyway, back to the concept of the family sedan electric Bugatti. The pixel tamer recalled the real Bugatti history from the 30s when the company was racing and winning. The inspiration for this fluid concept lies in the Bugatti 57G Tank that won at Le Mans in 1937. However, it's easy to see the Chiron blood in the design, particularly in the rear half.

The car’s most striking features are the powertrain and cabin. The full mask on the front is all the more revealing of the nature of this bullet-shaped sedan: no air intakes, ventilation ducts, or other aerodynamic discrepancies whatsoever. This is a socket-sucker of hyperbolic proportions. But there’s a method to the madness that cleverly makes the most of this paradigm shift toward the all-electric hyper-saloon car.

With that monstrous 8.0-liter powerplant gone (together with its turbocharger quartet and all accompanying ancillaries), a lot of car real estate becomes available behind the driver. While the idea of a Bugatti ute might tickle a few fetishes, passenger accommodation is the most obvious use for that extra room.

Not too many of them – two extra people are enough, each with its racing armchair. The retro influence is strong in the two doors’ styling – suicide-opening and barn-sized to allow access for all four occupants simultaneously. We could definitely see Bugatti implement the reverse butterfly in a future car of theirs, EV or not.

The C-line signature contour of a Bugatti is retained, albeit in LED inserts on the sides, nodding to the first cars that sported the famous sweeping curve that Ettore himself contoured. Strangely, the artist envisioned this Bugatti in a rear-wheel drive architecture (at least, that’s what the video at the bottom indicates).

We can see that the full-length console is not a mere luxury element or a decorating touch of exclusivity but serves a main practical purpose by concealing the stacks of battery cells. Seen from the side, this family hypercar is not that different from a Chiron. The overall shape is strikingly similar, although the single-tone grey livery does not induce any optical illusions that make the car appear longer.

The rear is borrowed from the W16 Mistral without too much fuss – the trademark X-shaped LED-bar taillights and the scripting in the middle of the panel (also illuminated in red) are there. All in all, Bugatti will probably come up with a radically different proposal for its electric hypercar – provided they will actually engage in such an endeavor. Alternatively, they can simply wait for the EV hype to calm down and enter straight into the flying hypercar segment – whenever that will be a thing.

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