Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac has confirmed his Bugatti Chiron Sport, worth an estimated €3 million (A$4.75 million), was stolen from the Rimac campus near Zagreb, Croatia, before being chased across Europe.
The boss of Bugatti, and founder of electric hypercar brand Rimac, said he set off in his Porsche 911 sports car – which had a full tank of fuel – in pursuit of the stolen Chiron across Slovenia and into Austria.
The Bugatti Chiron Sport is one of the world’s fastest cars, powered by an 1103kW/1600Nm 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine, with a 0–100km/h time of 2.4 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 420km/h.
Posting a clip to social media, shared on YouTube by Car Chronicles, Mr Rimac confirmed reports of the theft and explained that an opportunistic thief had attempted to drive the car to Germany.
“There’s this crazy story about my Chiron being stolen, blowing up in the media, and now everyone is calling me [asking] ‘Is it true? Is it true?’, and believe it or not, yes, the car was stolen yesterday,” Mr Rimac said.
“I’m so proud of Croatia being so safe that I’m very relaxed, meaning, also, I always leave my keys inside my cars, including the Chiron and [Rimac] Nevera and many other cars.
“And I do that for years, and nothing ever happened, of course, until something did happen.”
A man looking for work at the automaker entered the campus, which Mr Rimac said has no fences, although a pass is required to access certain areas.
“A guy walked in and took the car, and the craziest thing is, we wouldn’t have even noticed because a lot of my friends and colleagues from the company they use the car; I don’t even know where it is most of the time.”
The theft was only discovered after someone reported seeing an unfamiliar driver behind the wheel of the hypercar, prompting colleagues to check its whereabouts through a group chat and call the police.
The company was able to access the vehicle’s telemetry, including its speed, fuel level and location, which showed the thief was heading towards Slovenia.
“We opened the group chat, sending all the information in there, and I was right next to my 911, which was full of fuel and full throttle, chasing after him because he had a one-hour head start,” Mr Rimac said.
“I was hoping that he would get caught before getting into the next country, so that the border crossing would be closed, but he made it to Austria, and I tried to catch him.”
A stop for petrol appeared to offer an opportunity to catch the thief, but Mr Rimac said the man only partially filled the Bugatti’s tank and allegedly left without paying, getting back on the road before police could apprehend him.
“But eventually, Austrian police, fantastic job. One of the officers was in our group chat, had an update of the location all the time, [and] they caught him,” Mr Rimac said.
The alleged thief was a Croatian man who had entered the campus to ask for work but instead took the Bugatti. After being caught, he told authorities he was heading to Germany.
Police allowed Mr Rimac to meet the man. While the car company boss didn’t want charges laid, the alleged thief still faced action from Austrian and Croatian authorities.
“He damaged the car a bit. It’s okay, I don’t care, we will repair it,” he added.
“[The] Most important thing that nothing happened to him or anyone else, the police did a fantastic job. Thank you so much, especially the Austrian Police, you guys are awesome.
“We had a good time, good laugh … but it was interesting, crazy, and my friends and I have another story to tell, and we will not keep our keys anymore around the factory, so don’t try your luck!”
