Bugatti boss Stephan Winkelmann says 'no' to a future Bugatti SUV
Winkelmann believes that a heritage brand like Bugatti should stay true to its roots and thus, it can't break away from its tradition of being a luxury supercar manufacturer. Therefore, foraying into the SUV space is unlikely for the Molsheim-based carmaker.
By Divyank K. Bansal
Even as major supercar brands across the world are gunning for SUV models in their portfolio, Bugatti boss Stephan Winkelmann has said an emphatic 'no' to any SUV model from the Molsheim-based carmaker in the future
Bugatti has been developing high-performance cars in Molsheim, Alsace, since 1909. While it all started with the Type 10, which was later renamed as the Bugatti Type 13, the French carmaker, in its entire history, has only focussed on producing more powerful, more driver-oriented and more luxurious performance vehicles than their respective predecessors. With the record-shattering Veyron, Bugatti entered the elite '1000bhp club', and it is said to be the original inspiration for modern-day hypercar manufacturers like Koenigsegg.
As 2019 marks the brand's 110th anniversary, company boss Stephan Winkelmann has gone on to list the important objectives of the brand for the year. This year, Bugatti will organise a grand tour of places where the company's founder, Ettore Bugatti, was active during his life. From 2019 onwards, the Bugatti Divo will also enter production and will be built together with the Chiron at the company’s factory in Molsheim. The first few units of the Divo will be delivered to customers in 2020, and the first lot of just 40 units is already sold out at a net unit price of €5 million.
Lastly, Winkelmann has also stated that a few 'surprises' from the brand are on their way in the near future. Now, any petrolhead would jump straight to the conclusion that Bugatti might just venture into the SUV space, following the lead of other supercar manufacturers like Lamborghini and Aston Martin. However, Winkelmann has bluntly stated that 'there will be no SUV from Bugatti.' He further adds that 'an SUV would not do justice to the brand or its history.'
With this clear declaration, Bugatti has become the second hypercar manufacturer, after McLaren, to not chase the SUV dream in pursuit of volumes and at the expense of the brand's heritage and legacy.
