Electric Ferrari: will it prove Bugatti Rimac's CEO wrong?

Electrification is turning the automotive world upside down, including at the very top end of the market. And in this world, one very credible voice has made itself heard: Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Automobili... and since 2021, CEO of Bugatti Rimac, the joint venture overseeing future Bugatti models. At at a conference organized by the Financial Times less than a year agothe electric vehicle pioneer made a surprising statement: in his view, the golden age of electric 100 % hypercars is already drawing to a close.

A shocking statement, coming from the man who launched the Nevera, one of the most efficient electric cars ever built. Mate Rimac goes further: he believes that high-end customers are now looking to differentiate themselves from the mass of electric vehicles that have become ubiquitous. In his eyes, mechanical and analog sensations, the sound and brutality of a combustion or hybrid engine, are once again major criteria for enthusiasts. To put it plainly: luxury can no longer be content with silence.

See you on October 9, 2025

And yet... Ferrari has announced the presentation of its very first 100 % electric car for october 9, 2025. A major event in the history of Maranello. According to Benedetto Vigna, the brand's CEO, this model is no ordinary electric vehicle: "On that day, there will be a lot of electrons on the streets of Maranello", he says with a touch of mischief. He added recently, in March 2025 in New York: "We're not making an electric car to tick a box. We're creating something exciting, a real Ferrari."

Ferrari is not talking about a "transition", but about adding to its range. Thermal, hybrid, electric: each technology will have its place in a mix designed to maintain the brand's DNA while integrating the demands of the future. The goal? By 2026, 60 % of sales will be hybrid or electric, and 40 % thermal. A subtle balance, a far cry from the radical shift Maserati sought to make with its Folgore range.

Can Ferrari succeed where Rimac doubts?

That's the real question. Ferrari isn't playing the electric card out of obligation or marketing posturing. The brand sees its electric model as an object of desire, just like an 812 or SF90. A project long in the making, developed at a new ultra-modern site in Maranello, the Ferrari E-Building, dedicated to the production of motors, batteries and... emotions.

The teams are also working on innovative sound solutions, to replace the roar of a V12 engine with a unique Ferrari sound experience. A tall order, but one that lives up to the brand's ambitions.

If Ferrari succeeds...

So the message sent to the world of high-end automobiles will be resounding. Ferrari could become the first brand to prove that a luxury electric car can be seductive without sacrificing sensations. Better still, it could demonstrate that electrics can have a personality of their own, far removed from the cold technological efficiency denounced by Rimac.

That would be a form of irony: to prove Bugatti Rimac's CEO wrong... about electric cars, precisely where his group had shown itself to be the most pioneering.