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Bugatti not planning an EV or SUV in the next 10 years

Bugatti is at a turning point in its history: It will end production of the Chiron and the W16 engine that powers it in the coming years. What's next remains a little murky, but the company confirmed that it's not planning on releasing an electric car or an SUV for at least 10 years. "A purely electric version is not included in our 10-year plan for Bugatti. There will also be no SUV," said Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac in an interview with industry trade journal Automobilwoche. "If it's comparable, then it's not a Bugatti," he added, citing the firm's founder. His comments put an end to the rumors that have hovered around Bugatti since Croatia-based Rimac purchased a controlling stake in July 2021. Rimac made a name for itself by developing high-performance EVs, and some feared it would leverage its expertise to launch a range of badge-engineered battery-powered Bugatti models. Rimac ruled out badge engineering early on and stressed the two brands won't overlap, though its CEO predicted that "within this decade there will be a fully electric Bugatti" shortly after the purchase was announced. Bugatti has started developing the Chiron's successor and Autoblog confirmed in August 2022 that the model will be powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Rimac stopped short of revealing precise technical details about the yet-unnamed model but told Automobilwoche his team hopes to increase the system's electric-only range from approximately 12 miles in some gasoline-electric hypercars to 30 miles. More details about Bugatti's future should emerge in the coming months. In the meantime, the company has its work cut out for the coming years: it needs to finish production of the Chiron, build the track-only Bolide, and make the 99 planned units of the sold-out Mistral (pictured). Related video:

249 reasons you want to go to Goodwood Revival

At its most basic, Goodwood Revival is a long weekend worth of car races featuring cars made before 1970. There are lots of those, though, including some pretty great ones all over the world. But nothing is like Goodwood Revival because it's so much more than "just" vintage car racing.  First, you have to look the part. Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in period clothing from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with a strict dress code enforced should you want to enter the paddock. The goal is to create a more authentic atmosphere to match the cars and the meticulously restored and recreated paddocks, grandstands and other facilities of the reborn Goodwood circuit. Now, the dress code was relaxed this year since the Saturday was literally the hottest Sept. 9 on record in that part of England, and the organizers didn't want people dropping dead because they needed to wear an ascot. Some people definitely took the "relaxed" bit too far, but there was still plenty of atmosphere maintained. It really does make a big difference, as those "relaxed" individuals were often akin to seeing a Starbucks cup in a scene from "Game of Thrones."  You can see what I came up with below along with former Autoblog editor Reese Counts and various other Goodwood attendees. Second, there's the parking lot. But I'll let this entire separate post detail that. Third, there's the enormous carnival-like area featuring vintage-looking rides and various boutiques. Both of those are on the outside portion of the track, and honestly, you could easily just spend your entire day in the parking lot and carnival/shopping area without even crossing over into the circuit area. There you'll find more shops, food and drink opportunities, plus obviously, race car paddocks and the track itself.  Fourth, there are airplanes! I heard there are fewer than in the past, but they're there and they're cool. The Goodwood circuit started out life as the perimeter road around the World War II airfield RAF Westhampnett.  Fifth, with all of the above, Goodwood Revival really is fun for the whole family. It isn't just a bunch of old guys sitting around in lawn chairs. There are plenty of women and adorably dressed children, including babies in vintage prams. It's also not an event that's exclusively for the uber rich, even if they are certainly in full force given who has the sort of money needed to go vintage racing.

Bugatti previews what looks like a W16-powered race car

Bugatti captured our attention when it released an image of an enigmatic new model whose rear lights form an X. We still don't know exactly what we're looking at, but a photo of its powertrain sheds light on what's coming. Significantly, the digital rendering shows the car is built around the quad-turbocharged W16 that powers the Chiron. An earlier report speculated it would be electric, and that's evidently not the case. The engine is mounted directly behind the passenger compartment, and the transmission it's bolted to seemingly spins the four wheels. We also see a rectangular steering wheel, a pair of carbon fiber bucket seats, and center-locking wheels covered by carbon fiber discs. All of these parts look like they belong in a race car, but Bugatti is keeping additional details under wraps. "What if...?" again appears on the photo, so we're expecting something out of the ordinary.  An earlier teaser showing the number 0,67 also asked more questions than it answered. Europeans use a comma instead of a decimal, so there's a strong chance we're looking at 0.67. It's far too high to be the car's drag coefficient; keep in mind the original Land Rover Defender had a 0.59 drag coefficient, and the rear-engined Volkswagen Beetle posted 0.48. If this is indeed a track car, is it 0.67 seconds quicker than the Chiron around a given track? It's possible but unlikely, because that's a rounding error at best regardless of whether we're talking about the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Nurburgring, or Suzuka. 0.67 seconds quicker to 60 mph is plausible.  Is it a one-off, or a limited-edition model? If it's the latter, are there any build slots left? Your guess is as good as ours. All of our questions will be answered when the mysterious car makes its global debut online tomorrow, October 28, at noon Central European time, which is 6 a.m. on the East Coast and 3 a.m. in California.