Alongside Aston Martin and Ferrari, Bugatti is one of the few remaining super luxury brands that don’t have SUVs in their lineups.
But while Aston Martin and Ferrari have already confirmed the DBX and Purosangue crossovers, there’s nothing official from Bugatti yet on this subject. However, things could change in the future. At the Paris Auto Show, the company’s president has admitted the possibility of adding an SUV to the lineup.
In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Stephan Winkelmann admitted that Bugatti could build an SUV to broaden its range. “The brand is ready for more. The W16 engine is at the core of the brand today, but it won’t remain the heart forever,” the executive said.
While the SUV would need to be worthy of the Bugatti badge, it would also have to make sense economically to get the green light. That may surprise many people given Bugatti’s excessive budgets in the past, but the VW Group entered an era of austerity in the wake of the Dieselgate affair.
“We need to come up with a convincing pitch to our shareholders that justifies the related investment,” Winkelmann said, adding that Bugatti would also need to show the world it is preoccupied with lowering its emissions.
That means we won’t see a W16-powered Bugatti SUV. A hybrid powertrain could be part of the future for Bugatti, according to Winkelmann, who added that social acceptance in terms of emissions needs to be considered.
The executive said a range of chassis and engine variants are up for discussion, without giving more details. Last but not least, the SUV would need to cater to Bugatti’s customer base, which is mostly made up of billionaires.