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Mate Rimac dishes on Bugatti engines and a canceled Bugatti EV CUV

Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac gave Auto Express a look behind the scenes of his short time as head of the combined hypercar companies, as well as a peep into the CEO's crystal ball. The interview deserves a read because Rimac is the latest, closest thing we have to "garage car guy catapults himself into industry bigwig" — the hugely successful corporate antipode to Christian von Koenigsegg's hugely successful indie label. In 2007, at 19 years old, Rimac began converting his BMW 3 Series to an electric powertrain. Four years later, he showed the Rimac Concept One at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Ten years after that, he took the lead at Bugatti. He told Auto Express that as soon as he agreed with VW to lead the Molsheim luxury brand, which was two years before being installed as CEO, he and his team began working on a new internal combustion engine for a future Bugatti. Rimac said he'd already been working on a Bugatti project, ex-CEO Stephan Winkelmann having sought assistance on "an electric CUV similar to what the Ferrari Purosange turned out to be." We're told the idea was to rework the Rimac Nevera powertrain for the purpose. Once Rimac knew he was going to take over the joint venture company, the crossover was dead. Rimac said, "I knew exactly what I wanted the next car [after the Chiron] to be, and we started developing a combustion engine on our own." We will get a concept view of that powerplant next year, described as a "totally bonkers" hybrid in a car that doesn't share any parts with an existing Bugatti or Rimac. We'll probably be waiting until the last Chirons and Mistrals are produced before it hits the road, though.    As for the canceled Bugatti crossover, Rimac says that's not coming back. We've heard that from every supercar and hypercar maker that now has or will soon have an SUV, haven't we? Here's where we reach the gray area: Rimac isn't opposed to a four-seater car, he's opposed to an SUV. Regarding a car, he told AE, "I will never say we'll never do this sort of thing," but he hasn't found a "technical concept" that combines the proportions needed to make four people comfortable with what he expects from a hypercar. The SUV, on the other hand, received an unequivocal, "No. ... It was something we immediately stopped for Bugatti, and we will go in a slightly different direction. That is a direction we will never take." Keep an eye on that line in the sand.

The last 1995 Bugatti EB110 SS is for sale

Throughout 2019, Bugatti is celebrating its 110th birthday by releasing several special cars such as the Chiron Sport 110 Ans Bugatti and the Atlantic-inspired Bugatti La Voiture Noire. In a similar fashion in 1991, Bugatti celebrated 100 years of Ettore Bugatti with the release a car that still impresses today: the EB110 GT. Bugatti went on to one-up itself with the release of the car seen here, the high-performance EB110 SS. Nearly 25 years later, the last production example is up for sale. The numbers for the 1995 supercar are pretty bonkers. Where the GT made about 550-560 bhp, the SS was cranked up to more than 600 bhp. The SS used the same 3.5-liter V12 with 12 individual throttle bodies and four turbochargers as the GT, but featured larger injectors, an updated exhaust with fewer catalytic converters, and a better-tuned ECU. Supercars were still in analog mode at this point, so the EB110 had a six-speed manual gearbox and put power down to the ground through Bugatti's four-wheel drive system. According to the firm selling the car, Girardo & Company, it could do zero to 62 mph in 3.26 seconds and had a top speed in excess of 200 mph. Part of the performance upgrade from the GT to the SS was done through weight savings, as well. Although Bugatti had been weight-conscious from the start by building the EB110 with a carbon fiber monocoque, it was reportedly able to cut approximately 350 pounds of weight off the GT. This came from making the hood, the engine cover, and the undertray carbon fiber and replacing the side windows with an air inlet cover for the engine. Furthermore, the SS had specialized BBS magnesium wheels, a new fixed rear wing, brake cooling vents behind the front wheels, a more aero-focused front bumper. Bugatti reportedly only made 84 EB110 GTs, and the SS was more than twice as rare, with approximately only 30 examples built. This car, chassis. No. 39040 ,was finished in September 1995 and is said to be the last production EB110 SS ever made. With a Grigio Chiaro paint job, it's likely one of the most coveted Bugattis on the planet.

Volkswagen posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales

Volkswagen returned to profit in the third quarter as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the pandemic, sending its shares as much as 3% higher on Thursday. The German automaker's return to the black comes amid spiking coronavirus cases in Europe that led governments in France and Germany to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday. "The coronavirus remains a central problem," Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed." But Witter said the group expected the economic recovery to continue and did "not anticipate any nationwide lockdowns in larger markets." Witter said the takeover of U.S. truck maker Navistar International by Volkswagen's trucking unit Traton was an important acquisition, but the "current economic climate will not make this easy." Volkswagen reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying its business "recovered noticeably" in the third quarter as sales in China of premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%. The quarterly performance was also aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year. Volkswagen said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros from 18.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros a year earlier, but up from a second quarter loss of 1.7 billion. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois described the results as a "solid performance with strong cash, but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery." Last week, German rival Daimler reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both also posted solid results this week. Witter said Volkswagen could not say for sure whether it would meet EU CO2 emissions targets this year, adding "it will be a tough race." At 1030 GMT, Volkswagen shares were up 2.9% at 129.20 euros. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Porsche Volkswagen