Rimac
Surely everyone is aware of Rimac’s acquisition of 55% of Bugatti. At the time it came with a mixed bag of emotions - causing us to ask ourselves, “Will they go all electric?” “What about Bugattis massive W16 with quad turbos?”. I had a ton of doubt - especially after experiencing the visceral acceleration, deep growl, and heavy breathing of the Chiron’s quad turbos.
Just this week, however, DragTimes released a video where he got his hands on a Rimac Nevera and put it up against Tesla’s new Model S Plaid. To paint the picture - The Model S Plaid does 0-60 in under 2 seconds and completes the quarter mile in just 9.25 seconds, surpassing the numbers the Bugatti Chiron can put down (2.4s and 9.4s, respectively). The Rimac, boasting its 1914hp electric power plant, was able to make the Model S Plaid look like it was seemingly stand still - pumping out a 1/4 mile time of 8.58s in its best run.
What does this mean for Bugatti? Its apparent Rimac has been able to put together the best of the best in the electric world, but how does that translate over to Bugatti history? The Hypercar industry has been moving over to petrol + electric power plants ever since the Holy Trinity (918, LaFerrari, P1) came to market in 2014. It seems possible to see the next iteration of Bugatti to incorporate some electric technology that Rimac has crafted with the Nevera, but will hopefully save full electric for the Rimac brand.
Market Watch
In August’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) data report we saw a start to a down trend on used car prices! Following a 10%, 7.3%, and 10.5% increase in prices paid by used car buyers in April, May, and June, we finally saw a pull back in July down to 0.2%, bringing the 12 month total to 41.7%. This pullback might not stay for long, however. Just last week we saw Mercedes halt production of 2022 V8 cars, causing a skyrocket in used Mercedes V8s. Gwagons are seen going for 100-150k over sticker and many others have seen a sharp increase as well. We will have to watch to see if similar supply shortages effect other car manufacturers - pushing the price burden back onto the buyer.
Tuesday’s Timepiece
For me, the Rolex GMT Master II Blue Black (aka “Batman”) has always been a grail watch. With Rolex productions down, its become even harder to get your hands on one - allowing it to fetch a 16-18k premium in the gray market.
Audemars Piguot has produced some of their Royal Oak models in the “Skeleton” version, showing off the movement through the dial of the watch. We have seen Rolex dabble with this in their Daytona model, but never with the GMT Master II… Until now… A company called Skeleton Concept has taken the Batman and fitted it with a Skeleton dial, showing off its beautiful 3186 movement (3285 in newer models). It can be yours for ~70k USD.
Thanks for coming by! If you made it to the end, consider leaving a comment/share with your friends!