Rimac Could Take Over Bugatti, Pushing Porsche Out

It seems Rimac might be willing to do Porsche dirty, pushing the German automaker out of ownership of French automaker Bugatti. This is the sort of complex political games we’ve come to expect out of the Volkswagen Group, but the ramifications of this twist could be huge and long-lasting.

While some automakers saw sales booms, these were a bust.

Just a few short years ago, Bugatti was in big financial trouble. Along came Porsche with Rimac, a company the German brand had invested heavily in, to jointly rescue the French. But here we are in 2025 and it appears the premium Croatian EV company is ready to crowd out Porsche, either taking over Bugatti solely or bringing in another investor.

It’s possible Porsche doesn’t want to be invested in Bugatti anymore, for whatever reason. Allegedly, Bugatti already approached its partner about a buyout, stating it believes the partnership is worth just over $1 billion.

All of this is happening as Bugatti is preparing the launch of the Tourbillon, its third hypercar generation, which will use a hybrid powertrain, helping propel the French brand into the future. But the auto industry is in a bit of turmoil lately, especially in Europe where tariffs (we’re talking before President Trump weighed in on the matter) and Chinese competition have shifted things dramatically.

This comes from a Bloomberg report, which cites anonymous sources who are “familiar with the matter.” Does that mean they’re so close they can’t be identified or is this all just a bunch of hot air? We’ll just have to see what happens.

Bloomberg did ask Porsche about its potential buyout from Bugatti, but the automaker wouldn’t issue a statement acknowledging it. Now, it’s possible Porsche is plotting to instead push Rimac out of the partnership, which would be quite the twist. Remember, Porsche has tried before to take control of the entire Volkswagen Group, so don’t accuse it of not being ambitious.

Image via Rimac