Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac has changed his personal habits after his personal hypercar was stolen. The incident involved his CAD$5-million Bugatti Chiron, which was taken from outside a company facility in Croatia.
The CEO regularly left his car keys in his vehicles on company property. He felt the cars were secure in Croatia and were often borrowed by employees or friends. He believed the risk of theft was low, remarking that he thought the country was “super-super-safe.”
On October 29, a local man in his 30s allegedly wandered the Rimac campus while looking for a job. He saw the Chiron with the keys inside and seized the opportunity. The thief fled with the car, heading toward Germany.
An employee spotted the speeding Chiron and alerted colleagues through a group chat. They confirmed the car was stolen and notified local police. The team also shared a real-time telemetry feed showing the car’s location, speed, and fuel level.
Rimac did not wait for police. He pursued the thief in one of his own Porsche 911s. The live data showed the Chiron was heading toward Slovenia with about an hour’s lead. The chase crossed into Austria, requiring coordination with another country’s authorities.
Read Also: Nissan Canada’s First e-Power SUV Since 2015
Both Rimac and the police monitored the car’s data. They noted the 1,500-hp, quad-turbo W16 engine was quickly draining the fuel tank. The hope was to intercept the thief when he stopped for gas. The thief did stop at a service station, put in a half-tank of premium fuel without paying, and continued the escape.
Austrian police, who had been tracking the telemetry, intercepted the car and arrested the thief. One officer had been closely monitoring the vehicle’s location. Rimac recovered his Chiron, which had some paint scuffs, but he felt sorry for the thief and dropped the charges.
Rimac joked about giving the man a ride back to Croatia, but local police were not so lenient. The thief did not get the job he sought at Bugatti-Rimac. Rimac now says his habit of leaving keys in cars is over.
The CEO recounted the story on Instagram, ending with a warning to others. “Don’t try your luck,” he cautioned anyone thinking of a similar stunt at the company’s offices.
