Key Points

  1. A man entered the Bugatti Rimac complex near Zagreb on Wednesday, found a Bugatti Chiron with its key inside, and drove it across Slovenia into Austria.
  2. CEO Mate Rimac used the car's telemetry to track it, chased it in his Porsche 911, and shared location data with police, who intercepted the vehicle and detained the suspect.
  3. The Chiron, which has a base price of about €2.4 million, was recovered with some damage; Rimac said he will no longer leave keys inside cars at the company's premises.

How a Bugatti Chiron Left the Bugatti Rimac Complex

Security cameras at the Bugatti Rimac production and technology complex near Zagreb captured a man entering a Bugatti Chiron and driving it off the premises without authorization on Wednesday. The car belonged to Mate Rimac, the company's CEO, who had left the key inside the vehicle — a habit he maintained so that employees could move cars when needed. The site is not fully fenced along its perimeter, and the theft was only noticed after someone alerted staff that an unknown person had driven off in the car. Because colleagues also used the vehicle, the team had to confirm via a messaging group that no one had authorized the trip.

Once informed, Rimac called the police and used the Chiron's telemetry system to track its location. The data showed the car heading toward Slovenia. Rimac then got into his own Porsche 911 and set off after the vehicle, which had roughly an hour's head start. The pursuit crossed the border and continued into Austria, with location information shared with officers in a messaging group. That coordination helped Austrian authorities locate and intercept the car; the suspect was detained and the Chiron recovered.

At the police station, Rimac said the man told him he had come to the company looking for work and decided to take the car after noticing the key was available. The suspect is a Croatian man in his 30s, according to Rimac's account. Rimac said he does not intend to file a complaint against the man, but acknowledged the case could still have legal consequences given the car's high value. The Chiron sustained some damage and will need repairs. In a social media post, the CEO said he will no longer leave keys inside cars at the company's premises.

What the Chiron Theft Reveals About Bugatti Rimac's Security

Why the Chiron Was an Easy Target

The theft exposed a gap between the value of the asset and the everyday controls around it. The Chiron sat with its key inside, on a site that is not fully fenced, and the absence of the car was not immediately flagged because staff routinely moved vehicles. The delay in confirming that no employee had taken it gave the suspect roughly an hour's head start — enough to reach Slovenia before the alarm was effectively raised. For a company whose products start at around €2.4 million, the incident shows how informal access habits can create outsized exposure.

Telemetry as the Decisive Tool

The recovery hinged on the car's telemetry system, which let Rimac track the Chiron in real time and relay its position to police. That turned a cross-border pursuit into a coordinated interception by Austrian authorities. The episode is a practical advertisement for connected-vehicle technology: without live location data, the car could have disappeared into a cross-border network where recovery rates are typically far lower. It also shows the limits of relying on the owner's personal response — Rimac's decision to chase the car himself in a Porsche 911 was effective here, but it is not a scalable security model.

Reputational and Operational Fallout

For Bugatti Rimac, the reputational risk is modest but real. The story is unusual and has drawn international coverage, but it casts the company as a victim rather than a wrongdoer, and the CEO's hands-on response may even read as sympathetic. The more concrete consequence is internal: Rimac has already said he will stop leaving keys in cars on site, which signals a broader review of access and perimeter controls. The suspect's claim that he came looking for work adds an awkward human dimension, but it does not change the legal exposure created by the car's value.

What Comes Next

The suspect was detained in Austria, and the legal path will depend on Austrian and Croatian authorities. Rimac's decision not to file a complaint does not automatically close the case, because the high value of the vehicle can trigger proceedings regardless. The Chiron's damage will require repairs, and the company is likely to tighten key management and site access. For context, luxury-vehicle theft across European borders is a known pattern, and telemetry is increasingly the difference between recovery and loss.