“Performance Is Becoming Secondary" As Supercars Enter A New Era

The multi-million-dollar hypercar market is officially splitting from mainstream passenger vehicles.

While that has always been more or less the case, there will soon be fundamental differences in the underlying technology. Digitized, low-cost electric vehicles and software-defined mass-market automation will dominate everyday transportation, while the highest tier of performance cars will rely on analog engagement from internal combustion engines for decades to come.

That is the verdict from Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac, who told CNBC that ultra-luxury sports cars are undergoing a fundamental transformation similar to the high-end watch market.

“For normal cars, normal people, the vast majority will be electric,” Rimac said. “The upper segment, like sports cars and upwards, are going to stay combustion for a very long time, exactly like watches. Only like 5% of watches are made in Switzerland, but that’s where 90% of profits are made. An Apple Watch or any kind of smart watch can do so many more things. But no one will pay $200,000 for it.”

The strategic vision translates directly into Bugatti's current product strategy. When Rimac Group took control of Bugatti alongside Porsche in 2021, industry watchers widely assumed the merger would yield an all-electric Bugatti hypercar. Instead, Rimac spearheaded the development of the Tourbillon—a hybrid hypercar built around an 8.3-liter naturally aspirated V16 engine.

Developed alongside Cosworth, the massive 1,000-horsepower V16 pairs with three electric motors to deliver a combined 1,800 horsepower.

“It’s kind of ironic that I’m now making the world’s biggest combustion engine,” he said. “You have the crazy situation now at our facility in Croatia. On the same production line, you have the world’s most powerful electric car being built right next to the world’s biggest combustion engine. Life is strange sometimes.”

Exclusivity and bespoke personalization remain the primary profit engines for hypercar manufacturers. Production of the Tourbillon is strictly capped at 250 units globally, with a starting price tag of roughly $4.5 million. Despite the steep entry price, average buyers spend an additional $600,000 to $700,000 on custom paintwork, unique leather stitching, and one-off interior materials.

“You can get a car that’s faster than any performance car from 10 years ago for like $50,000 from China,” he said. “Performance is really becoming secondary. It’s more about what I call the celebration of human skills. When you look at these cars, you see the amount of ingenuity and art and beauty. The car is, like, the most complex object you can buy. It’s art, but it’s art that needs to go 250 miles per hour and be safe, have downforce and survive in a crash test and go in the snow and extreme heat, and all those things.”

To capitalize on this demand, manufacturers like Bugatti, Ferrari, and Lamborghini are leaning heavily into bespoke builds and coachbuilt one-offs—such as the track-focused Bugatti Destrier unveiled at Monterey Car Week.

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