Rimac has come a remarkably long way since it was established back in 2009. The Croatian startup made waves in the electric car industry with the electric Concept One hypercar, which was famously crashed by Richard Hammond in The Grand Tour. Its successor, the Nevera, was unveiled last month as one of the most powerful production cars ever made, cementing Rimac's reputation as the electric supercar leader.

The Croatian startup's tremendous talents soon attracted the attention of Porsche, which recently increased its stake in the company to 24 percent. Since then, there have been wild rumors that Rimac and Porsche are teaming up to take over Bugatti - but now it's official.

Today, an exciting new chapter in Rimac's rich history begins. In a new joint venture, Rimac and Bugatti are joining forces to form a new groundbreaking hypercar company: Bugatti Rimac LLC.

Rimac Group will own a majority 55 percent stake in the new company, which will combine Rimac's technological expertise with Bugatti's 110-year history of designing and developing cutting-edge new cars. Porsche will acquire the remaining 45 percent stake. Rimac Group founder Mate Rimac will retain his original 37-percent share in Rimac Group, while Porsche will keep its existing 24 percent stake. Hyundai Motor Group will also acquire a 12 percent stake in Rimac Group and other investors will make up the remaining 27 percent stake. The formation of the joint company will be formally approved in Q4, 2021.

Rimac will continue supplying powertrain, battery, and components to other manufacturers through its new independent Rimac Technology division. Both Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Technology division will be led by Mate Rimac.

Bugatti and Rimac will continue to operate as separate brands and retain their existing production facilities in France and Croatia. However, future Bugatti and Rimac hypercars will be researched and developed at the new state-of-the-art Rimac Campus, where the Rimac Technology division will also be based.

Based in Zagreb, Croatia, this €200 million facility will open in 2023 and employ 2,500 staff. When it launches, the joint venture will have around 430 employees, with 300 based at the company headquarters in Zagreb and 130 at Bugatti's HQ in Molsheim, France.

Bugatti will continue to develop the Chiron, while Rimac will continue producing the Nevera, but "jointly developed Bugatti models are planned for the longer term." As part of the joint venture, Bugatti will gain access to Rimac's pioneering electric technology, which strongly suggests the Chiron's successor will be an all-electric hypercar.

"This is a truly exciting moment in the short, yet rapidly expanding history of Rimac Automobili. We have gone through so much in such a short space of time, but this new venture takes things to a completely new level," said Mate Rimac.

"Rimac and Bugatti are a perfect match in terms of what we each bring to the table. As a young, agile and fast-paced automotive and technology company, we have established ourselves as an industry pioneer in electric technologies. With the Nevera, we have also proven that we can develop and manufacture outstanding hypercars, that are not only fast, but also exciting and high-quality. Bugatti, with over a century of experience in engineering excellence, also possesses one of the most exceptional heritage of any car company in history. We have just launched our latest hypercar - the Nevera - to universal global acclaim. So I can't begin to tell you how excited I am by the potential of these two incredible brands combining knowledge, technologies and values to create some truly special projects in the future."

Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche added: "We are combining Bugatti's strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac's tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electromobility. Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organisational approaches."