A Bugatti valued at approximately €3 million, reportedly belonging to Croatian automotive entrepreneur Mate Rimac, has been recovered in Austria after it was allegedly stolen near Zagreb. Austrian police arrested a 36-year-old Croatian man suspected of the theft after tracking the vehicle across Slovenia and into Austria.

According to Croatian news portal 24sata, the high-value supercar was stolen yesterday afternoon near Zagreb before the suspected thief fled across the Slovenian border and continued towards Austria. The case quickly developed into an international police operation involving authorities from Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.

Stolen Bugatti Found Near Graz After International Search

The stolen Bugatti was located shortly after 7 p.m. at a petrol station along the A9 motorway near Seiersberg, close to Graz, Austria. Austrian police apprehended the 36-year-old suspect after he entered the country through the Spielfeld border crossing.

The recovery followed cooperation between Slovenian and Austrian law enforcement agencies, which worked together to locate the vehicle and identify the suspected thief.

According to Austrian police, the suspect admitted to stealing the car during questioning. The vehicle was seized and subsequently returned to its owner, bringing the search for the approximately €3 million supercar to a conclusion.

Was the Stolen Car a Bugatti Chiron?

Austrian authorities have not officially disclosed the exact model of the recovered Bugatti. However, earlier reports in Austrian media unofficially identified the vehicle as a Bugatti Chiron.

If confirmed, the car would belong to one of the most exclusive families of modern hypercars. The Bugatti Chiron is renowned for its quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine, extraordinary performance and limited production, making it one of the most valuable modern vehicles on the road.

Depending on the version, specification and individual vehicle’s provenance, a Chiron can command a multimillion-euro price. The reported value of approximately €3 million is consistent with the exclusive nature of certain examples, although the precise model and specification in this case remain unconfirmed.

The car’s reported connection to Mate Rimac adds another dimension to the story. Rimac is widely recognised for his work in high-performance electric vehicles and his leadership in the automotive industry, including his involvement with Bugatti through Bugatti Rimac.

Criminal Proceedings to Continue in Austria

Following the recovery of the vehicle, the Austrian criminal police took over the investigation. The Graz public prosecutor’s office has ordered that a criminal complaint be filed against the 36-year-old suspect.

According to the available information, the legal proceedings will continue while the suspect remains at liberty. The authorities have not announced further details about the investigation or disclosed additional information about the circumstances surrounding the theft.

For now, several details remain unconfirmed, including the exact Bugatti model and the full circumstances in which the vehicle was taken near Zagreb.

A Multimillion-Euro Hypercar Recovered Across Borders

The swift recovery highlights the importance of international police cooperation when dealing with vehicle thefts involving high-value cars. In this case, coordination between Slovenian and Austrian authorities helped locate the missing Bugatti after it had crossed multiple borders.

With the vehicle returned to its owner and the suspect identified, the case now moves into the legal process in Austria.

For the automotive world, the incident is another reminder that even some of the rarest and most expensive hypercars can become targets for theft. However, until Austrian authorities confirm the model, the reported identification of the car as a Bugatti Chiron should be treated as unverified.

Source: 24sata.hr; Photo: Antonio Ahel/ATAImages

After almost three decades under Volkswagen Group ownership, Bugatti has officially entered a new chapter. Porsche has completed the sale of its stake in Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Group, formally ending the Volkswagen Group’s ownership connection with the legendary French hypercar manufacturer.

The transaction marks the end of one of the most significant chapters in modern Bugatti history. Volkswagen Group acquired the rights to the Bugatti name in 1998, and under its ownership the French marque evolved from a historic automotive name into one of the most recognizable and technologically ambitious hypercar manufacturers in the world.

Now, with Porsche completely out of Bugatti Rimac, Mate Rimac is taking a much more prominent role in the future of Bugatti.

Volkswagen Revived Bugatti in the 1990s

Bugatti’s modern revival began in 1998, when the Volkswagen Group, under then-CEO Ferdinand Piëch, acquired the rights to the historic French brand.

Piëch had ambitious plans for Bugatti. Volkswagen subsequently presented several dramatic concept cars as it explored how to return the marque to the top of the automotive world.

The result was the Bugatti Veyron.

When it arrived, the Veyron fundamentally changed expectations for what a production road car could achieve. Its quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine, enormous power output and extraordinary engineering made it one of the defining performance cars of the 21st century.

The Veyron was eventually followed by the Bugatti Chiron, which pushed the formula even further and established Bugatti as one of the world’s ultimate hypercar manufacturers.

For Volkswagen, Bugatti had become much more than a historic name. It had become a technological showcase for the group.

The Birth of Bugatti Rimac

The next major change came in 2021.

Volkswagen Group decided to restructure its ownership of Bugatti, bringing Rimac into the picture. The resulting joint venture, Bugatti Rimac, gave Rimac a 55 percent stake, while Porsche retained the remaining 45 percent.

It was an unusual but potentially powerful combination.

On one side was Bugatti, a brand synonymous with extreme luxury, mechanical engineering and record-breaking internal-combustion engines. On the other was Rimac, a company that had established itself as a leader in high-performance electric powertrains, batteries and advanced vehicle technology.

Porsche played a central role in the arrangement through its ownership position in the Volkswagen Group structure.

Five years later, that relationship has now come to an end.

Porsche Completes Its Exit From Bugatti Rimac

In April 2026, Porsche announced that a consortium led by HOF Capital had agreed to acquire its stake in Bugatti Rimac. Following the necessary regulatory approvals, the transaction has now been completed.

Porsche has sold both its stake in Bugatti Rimac and its 21 percent stake in the Rimac Group.

According to Porsche, the transactions will generate proceeds of approximately €1 billion. Around €250 million of that amount will be used to further finance pension obligations and improve the company’s net cash flow margin.

While Porsche is now leaving the ownership structure, the relationship with Rimac has already produced tangible technology for one of its most important products.

The Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid uses a battery supplied by Rimac, demonstrating that the collaboration was about more than simply ownership structures and corporate transactions.

Mate Rimac Takes Over as Bugatti President

The completion of the deal also brings significant changes to Bugatti’s management structure.

Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac, will become President of Bugatti Automobiles. He replaces Christophe Piochon, who is stepping down from his positions as President of Bugatti Automobiles and Chief Operating Officer of Bugatti Rimac.

The move gives Rimac even greater influence over the future direction of Bugatti.

Marko Brkljacic, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Rimac Technology, will join the Bugatti Rimac management team as Chief Operating Officer.

Meanwhile, current Bugatti Automobiles CEO Hendrik Malinowski will move into the role of Chief Commercial Officer.

The changes suggest that Bugatti and Rimac are entering a new phase in which the relationship between the two companies will become increasingly integrated, while Bugatti itself remains focused on maintaining its unique identity.

The Bugatti Tourbillon Is the First Car of the Rimac Era

The first major product to emerge from the Bugatti Rimac era is the Bugatti Tourbillon.

It is an important car for the brand for several reasons.

The Tourbillon represents Bugatti’s first electrified production model, combining a high-performance internal-combustion engine with an electric powertrain. It is therefore a significant technological departure from the Veyron and Chiron, while still following Bugatti’s traditional philosophy of combining extreme performance with luxury and engineering sophistication.

Before the Tourbillon was revealed, there was considerable speculation that the successor to the Chiron could become a fully electric hypercar.

Given Rimac’s expertise in electric vehicles, the assumption seemed logical.

But Mate Rimac and his team took a different approach.

Rather than turning Bugatti into another electric-only hypercar manufacturer, the company chose a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The decision allowed Bugatti to embrace electrification without abandoning the combustion engine that has been central to the brand’s identity for decades.

That strategy was not entirely unexpected.

When the Bugatti Rimac joint venture was created in 2021, Mate Rimac identified a plug-in hybrid hypercar as one of the objectives within his ten-year vision for Bugatti.

The Tourbillon is the result of that philosophy.

Bugatti Refuses to Abandon the Combustion Engine

The Tourbillon is particularly significant because it demonstrates that electrification does not necessarily mean the end of the internal-combustion engine at the highest level of performance.

Instead, Bugatti has used hybrid technology to enhance its traditional formula.

That distinction matters.

Rimac has demonstrated what is possible with fully electric hypercars, but Bugatti occupies a different position in the automotive world. Its customers expect not only breathtaking acceleration but also mechanical theatre, craftsmanship, exclusivity and a sense of occasion.

The Tourbillon attempts to combine those characteristics with modern electrification.

It is effectively Bugatti’s answer to the question of how a hypercar brand built around enormous combustion engines can move into the electric age without losing its identity.

A New Home for the Tourbillon in Molsheim

The Tourbillon also represents an important milestone for Bugatti’s manufacturing operation.

The brand’s new La Manufacture production facility in Molsheim was created specifically to support the next generation of Bugatti vehicles.

The facility represents a significant investment in the future of the brand and reinforces Bugatti’s commitment to producing its cars in Molsheim, the historic home of the company.

For Bugatti, this is about more than constructing a new factory. It is about combining traditional French craftsmanship with the increasingly sophisticated technology required to build modern hybrid hypercars.

That combination is central to Bugatti’s identity.

What Happens to Bugatti Now?

The end of Volkswagen Group ownership does not mean Bugatti is becoming a conventional Rimac product.

In fact, the opposite may be true.

Bugatti and Rimac have always represented two very different approaches to performance. Rimac’s expertise lies heavily in electric propulsion, batteries, software and advanced vehicle technology, while Bugatti’s appeal is built around luxury, exclusivity, craftsmanship and mechanical engineering.

The challenge for Mate Rimac will be maintaining that distinction while taking advantage of the technology and expertise available through the wider Rimac organization.

The Tourbillon suggests that the company already has a clear philosophy.

Bugatti will embrace electrification, but it will do so on its own terms.

The End of a 28-Year Volkswagen Chapter

Volkswagen’s involvement with Bugatti began in 1998 with Ferdinand Piëch’s ambitious plan to revive one of the world’s greatest automotive names.

It produced the Veyron, one of the most influential performance cars ever built, followed by the Chiron and an entire generation of Bugatti models that transformed the brand into a symbol of automotive excess and engineering ambition.

The 2021 creation of Bugatti Rimac represented another turning point.

Now, with Porsche’s stake sold and the transaction completed, the Volkswagen era has officially ended.

Bugatti is entering its next chapter under much stronger Rimac influence, with Mate Rimac moving into the role of President of Bugatti Automobiles.

The Tourbillon is the first major statement of that new era. It combines a combustion engine with electric assistance, traditional Bugatti craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, and the heritage of Molsheim with the engineering expertise of Rimac.

The biggest question now is not whether Bugatti will change.

It is how far Mate Rimac will take it.

For a company that has already produced the Veyron and Chiron, expectations could hardly be higher.

Source: Bugatti