The development of the Bugatti Tourbillon continues, and Rimac Automobili company believes that the new model could reach a speed of 500 km/h and thus set a new world record. But this is still a long way off, and not everything is going as smoothly as minority owner Porsche would like.

The Tourbillon is reportedly delayed and Porsche has repeatedly criticised Rimac’s developers for being unhappy with their lack of organisation, as the German financial magazine Manager reports.

The clash between Rimac’s start-up culture and Porsche’s perfectionism

Rimac’s Nevera is also not selling as expected. The joint venture’s results have not met the expectations of Porsche’s CFO Lutz Meschke. For 2023, Bugatti Rimac reported a loss of 17 million euros after tax on a turnover of 336 million euros, according to Porsche’s annual report.

This turn of events was not unexpected, says an insider. The start-up culture at Rimac, shaped by the main shareholder Mate Rimac, clashes with Porsche’s perfectionism and leads to problems that cause dissatisfaction at Porsche, according to insiders. Porsche AG, which currently holds 45% of Bugatti Rimac, therefore wants to take over the majority – and thus control – according to the Manager.

Porsche executives are reportedly discussing various scenarios, although no decision has yet been made on the future of Bugatti. Porsche is currently prioritising the ongoing restructuring talks at VW.

Another possibility is the involvement of another investor who could buy part of the Rimac shares. Mate Rimac confirmed to the Manager that “talks are ongoing between the shareholders about a possible transaction.” However, Porsche is not the only interested party. “The company is doing so well that I personally would like to increase Rimac’s stake,” Rimac explained.

Losses of recent years primarily justified by the fact that Bugatti Rimac has invested a lot of its own capital

Bugatti is sold out until 2029, and with the delivery of the Bolide and Mistral models, the joint venture should become profitable again by 2025. The losses of the last few years were mainly justified by the fact that Bugatti Rimac has invested a lot of its own capital in the development of new models – including a completely new Tourbillon platform. The Tourbillon is to be delivered from 2026.

In 2020, then Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess categorised Bugatti as a less profitable burden and decided to sell the company. After many negotiations, a kind of managed handover was agreed: the Rimac Group took over Bugatti. After all, Mate Rimac already had experience with this type of car. As a minority shareholder, Porsche was to ensure that the brand was handled with care.

With a 45% stake in Bugatti Rimac, Porsche also holds 21% of the Rimac Group’s holding company. The combined shareholding in Bugatti Rimac already amounts to 56%. However, this is not helpful in day-to-day business. In case of doubt, the decisions are made at Rimac, by Mate Rimac as CEO.

The decision as to whether Porsche will increase its stake now depends not only on an agreement between Mate Rimac, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume and CFO Lutz Meschke. Rimac’s other major shareholders must also agree. These include the Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, the investment bank Goldman Sachs and the investment firms SoftBank and Investindustrial.