Bugatti CEO Says It Won’t Build an SUV
A mall-crawling Bugatti apparently wouldn’t ‘do justice to the brand or its history.’
Back in December, Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann said that official top speed runs in the Chiron were "not on the agenda" for the company. Well, we can now add "build an SUV" to the list of things Bugatti says it won't do.
In a press release looking back at the company's previous year, Winkelmann states that "there will be no SUV from Bugatti" despite much demand and speculation. According to the Bugatti boss, an SUV "would not do justice to the brand or its history." Baja-ready Bugattis will have to remain the stuff of renderings and pipe dreams, we guess.
Bugatti has toyed with the idea of more practical products before though. The Galibier sedan concept was shown off in 2009 but never made it to production. In 2016, then-CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer said that the four-door Bugatti may materialize sometime after the Chiron's debut. Dürheimer was then succeeded in 2018 by Winkelmann, a Volkswagen Group veteran who had previously served as the head of Audi Sport as well as Lamborghini. So technically, a production Galibier is still on the table but frankly, we wouldn't hold our breath.
As for what Bugatti will do, the company cryptically says it has been working on "a few surprises" as well as "the presentation of further models" for 2019. Whatever those end up being, don't expect 'em to be half-baked. "We are always striving for perfection and artistic technology," said Winkelmann. "This is our driving force and we owe it to our historic brand and its founding genius Ettore Bugatti."
Bugatti's vehicle roster currently consists of the 1,500-horsepower Chiron and its more athletic (and exclusive) Divo brother.