Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac says he is open to building a manual hypercar, including the possibility of pairing a V16 engine with a true manual transmission. His comments suggest the idea has already been considered as manual supercars and hypercars regain popularity.

Mate Rimac Wants a Real Manual V16

During the recent Monterey Car Week festival, Rimac was asked whether there is room in the market for a Bugatti with a manual transmission. His response to Road & Track was enthusiastic: “Yes, definitely. Definitely. I agree one hundred percent. Imagine [a] V16 with a manual. Real manual.”

Rimac’s emphasis on a “real manual” suggests he would not be interested in recreating the by-wire manual-transmission mimicry used by Ferrari and Koenigsegg. That approach would also fit Bugatti’s combination of technological ambition, heft and opulence.

Could a Manual Bugatti Become a Special Edition?

If Bugatti builds a manual hypercar, it would be rare and expensive regardless of its production format. Such a car would also represent a particularly significant moment in the brand’s history.

Bugatti could potentially introduce a special run of a new Tourbillon variant in relatively low numbers. Another possibility would be Programme Solitaire, Molsheim’s one-off special commissions division.

Programme Solitaire has produced the Brouillard, the F.K.P. Hommage and, most recently, the Destrier. Another Bugatti one-off could potentially debut later this year, but the program produces no more than two per annum.

A manual Bugatti hypercar as a special edition would be preferable to another one-off. The creations revealed through Programme Solitaire have been W16-powered cars that arrived after their Chiron forefather had ended production.

That raises the possibility of waiting until the Tourbillon is getting long in the tooth before seeing and hearing Rimac’s vision for a manual V16 hypercar.

Engineering a Manual V16 Would Be a Challenge

Developing a new manual transmission would be difficult, and creating one sturdy yet refined enough for a 1,800-horsepower, multi-million-dollar V16-powered hypercar would make the challenge even greater.

The difficulty is compounded by the speed at which the Cosworth-developed 8.3-liter engine’s revs rise and fall.

Bugatti buyers, however, could potentially help shoulder the development costs by placing enormous deposits. The question is whether there is enough space in the Tourbillon to replace its eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with a manual.

A Tourbillon-based manual hypercar could potentially place less emphasis on outright speed, allowing its bodywork to be less closely wrapped around the drivetrain. Rimac may already have ideas about how such a setup could work.

For now, Bugatti’s manual V16 remains a possibility, but Rimac’s comments make clear that the concept has at least been considered.