Bugatti's CEO Predicts A Long Future For Gas-Powered Supercars

• 28.08.2026, 13:52

Affluent buyers value the driving experience.

Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac believes that cars with internal combustion engines will continue to dominate the high-end supercar segment for several more decades. Affluent buyers value not only speed and technical specifications, but also the sound, the mechanics, and the driving experience, writes Autoblog.

Rimac compared the supercar to traditional Swiss mechanical watches. In his opinion, electric vehicles surpass internal combustion engine cars in terms of functionality, but in the luxury segment, buyers are willing to pay for the emotional appeal and complex mechanics.

“Ultra-wealthy buyers are turning away from electric vehicles in favor of complex mechanical designs and the acoustic experience,” the article states.

The new Bugatti Tourbillon model serves as a prime example. Instead of a fully electric powertrain, the company equipped the hypercar with an 8.3-liter naturally aspirated V16 engine producing 1,000 horsepower and three electric motors. The total output reaches 1,800 horsepower.

Demand turned out to be high; all 250 Tourbillon models, with a starting price of about $4.5 million, sold out almost immediately. Additional customization increases the car’s price by an average of another $600,000–700,000.

Rimac, however, is not abandoning electric vehicles. Rimac continues to develop electric technologies, including systems for BMW cars and an autonomous robotaxi project.

However, in his view, the rules for hypercars are different. “Gasoline will soon become a luxury item,” the publication notes.

Against the backdrop of the automotive industry’s mass transition to electric vehicles, ultra-luxury cars may evolve into a separate niche where the internal combustion engine will be valued not in spite of progress, but precisely as a rare and expensive technology.