Considering what Bugatti charges for a Chiron these days, there's no reason the company should feel envious of luxury shops making SUVs. However, should it want more profits in the future, an SUV along the lines of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the Bentley Bentayga wouldn't be a bad idea.
The concept of a Bugatti SUV is fascinating to us. What would the company charge for something like that? Even at $1 million, it would only be twice as much as a Cullinan. And considering Bentley says it's made 20,000 Bentaygas, the market is by no means small.
Because Bugattis are made with the same kind of high-end tech and attention to detail as an F1 car, any SUV they offer would still be extremely rare and potentially very fast.
Considering Stephan Winkelmann is currently at the helm of the brand, the question is more "when?" rather than "what if?". In case you forgot, he's the man who presented the Lamborghini Urus on stage for the first time, so he knows a thing or two about making an SUV seem exotic.
According to the latest reports, the vehicle won't be an SUV, but a crossover-coupe with svelte lines and only mild off-road orientation. The world's wealthiest car buyers don't want to climb dirt trails, but they want a commanding view of the road.
That's kind of the theme of this rendering from Giorgi Tedoradze, called the Bugatti Royale. It's a simple iPad sketch, but it sends a powerful message: the hypercar company is coming for your SUV money.
Technologically speaking, the Bugatti high rider will have to offer better performance than the 641 horsepower Lamborghini Urus. But that doesn't mean it can't borrow some of its technology.
The Atlantic concept, which was built a few years ago but hidden from view until recently, seemed to feature the same 4-liter bi-turbo V8 engine you currently find in the Urus, Cayenne or Audi RS6. This potent engine can conceivably be enhanced further using hybrid technology. The latest Porsche electric motors can probably add another 300 horsepower of output.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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