The company is 55 per cent owned by the 10-year-old Croatian firm Rimac (which has shareholders including Porsche and Hyundai) and 45 per cent by Porsche AG.

Porsche chairman of board of management, Oliver Blume, said the merger is “the perfect solution” for everyone involved.

“Together, we are creating a high-performance automotive company,” he said.

“We have succeeded in positioning the traditional Bugatti brand with its charisma for the future in a way that creates value.

Mate Rimac

“Bugatti embodies fascination and passion, and Rimac has great innovative strength and tech expertise.”

Rimac was started 10 years ago from a garage by Mate Rimac, who has become CEO of Bugatti Rimac and Rimac-owned Rimac Technology. Mr Rimac owns 35 per cent with its other shareholders being Porsche (22 per cent), Hyundai (11 per cent) and other investors (32 per cent).

Porsche’s involvement is through Volkswagen AG via Audi which owned the 110-year-old Bugatti operations.

Bugatti Rimac will have its headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia, but continue to build Bugatti-badged cars in the company’s historic hometown of Molsheim in France.

Rimac technology – including the production of battery systems and EV drivetrains and components – and car production will be in Zagreb. The companies said that products from each brand will remain separate, but technology will be shared.

Rimac has EV technology that Porsche – and VW AG – plans to use. 

Porsche has stated it will transition to EVs for its production vehicles, first with the next-generation Macan and then plug-in hybrids for the 718 Boxster (2023) and 718 Cayman (2024). The next 911 iteration, the 994, is expected in late 2023 as a plug-in hybrid.

Porsche’s 918 replacement is then expected to use EV technology from Rimac’s Nevera supercar from 2025.

Along with its EV plans, Porsche has also announced it will retain internal-combustion engines for its various racing campaigns by using its own synthetic fuel.

Bugatti Rimac will move to a new global headquarters in Zagreb within the 200,000 square metre Rimac Campus, now under construction at a cost of $A312 million. The campus, to open in 2023, will also be the home of Rimac Technology.

By Neil Dowling