Bugatti is a French luxury automaker known for hypercars with astronomical price tags and world record top speeds. The brand conjures images of seven-figure vehicles setting new land speed records on lonely desert roads. So when Bugatti unveiled an electric scooter at CES 2022 with a top speed of just 18 mph and a $1,200 price tag, it‘s understandable that some scratched their heads in confusion.
Yet the Bugatti 9.0 e-scooter represents an important strategic first step as even traditional performance automakers respond to the accelerating global shift towards electric mobility. Let‘s take a closer look at Bugatti‘s unexpected little two-wheeler and what it means for this heritage brand‘s electrified future.
An Iconic Marque Enters the EV Arena
Founded in 1909, Bugatti has built a reputation over the past century for outrageously fast and wildly expensive internal combustion sports cars. The marque hit its peak in the 1930s when the Art Deco Type 57 ruled the roads. Bugatti faded from prominence over subsequent decades before Volkswagen revived the brand in 1998.
Today‘s Bugatti – while under different ownership after recently being spun off from the VW group – carries on that legacy with the latest iteration of the iconic Bugatti Chiron. Powered by an 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine producing 1,500 hp, the multi-million dollar Chiron Super Sport 300+ claimed the title of fastest production car in the world in 2019 with a top speed of 304 mph.
However, the days of giant gas engines appear numbered. With governments from California to the UK announcing plans to phase out sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles over the next 10-15 years, even exotic sports car marques like Bugatti have little choice but adapt. And in Bugatti’s case, that transition is starting small – very small – with a two-wheeled runabout dubbed the 9.0 e-scooter.
Bugatti‘s Beginner EV Boasts Premium Style
Unveiled at CES 2022, the Bugatti 9.0 may be the French carmaker’s first electric vehicle but it is still instantly recognizable as a Bugatti. The 9.0 features the brand‘s signature "C-shape" used in the design of its cars‘ horseshoe-shaped front grilles. Sleek, curved lines give the scooter an unmistakably premium aura.
Striking colors like Atlantic Blue sport carbon fiber accents. While compact when folded, the 9.0 still cuts an elegant profile when deployed for riding with clean, minimalist lines. Available in a trio of two-tone color schemes – blue, silver or black – style plays a central role in this e-scooter’s appeal.
“Even though the 9.0 e-scooter is our first electric product, it had to be recognizably a Bugatti,” explained Mate Rimac, Bugatti CEO. “This meant applying our design DNA to create something new and forward-thinking while embodying the Bugatti brand.”
Functionality clearly played second fiddle to form here. The specs reveal a relatively basic electric scooter hiding beneath that premium shell. The 9.0 is powered by a 600 W motor drawing from a 36V battery. While enough for short urban hops, the little Bugatti‘s range is limited. Riders can expect to travel around 15 miles on a 1.5 hour charge.
With three speed settings topping out at 18.5 mph, the 9.0 fails to capture Bugatti’s trademark insane velocity. Lightweight yet sturdy magnesium alloy and aluminum construction allows for a generous 265 lb carrying capacity – but good luck hitting those top speeds at max weight.
Clearly more about style than speed or range, the 9.0 succeeds more as a Bugatti branded consumer item than a performance scooter. But it provides an interesting case study as even the mostold school high-end automakers dip their toes into electrification.
An Odd First Step as Bugatti Plans its Electrified Future
At first brush, a short-range scooter with a four figure pricetag seems an incredibly odd opening gambit as Bugatti looks towards an electrified future. But context explains the strategy here.
Mate Rimac told industry press that Bugatti has no plans to develop a fully electric hypercar until 2030 at the earliest. Yet with the UK planning to end sales of ICE vehicles by 2030 and the EU eyeing a 2035 ban, time is ticking for Bugatti’s next ultra-exclusive ride. An interim EV like Porsche‘s Taycan to bridge that gap makes eminent sense.
And so Bugatti partnered with consumer tech company Bytech to quickly – by automotive industry standards – develop and deliver this niche e-scooter. The 9.0 allows Bugatti to test the waters with a fast-to-market EV based off existing industry supply chains and components rather than its usual clean sheet in-house hypercar development process.
“The Bugatti 9.0 e-scooter is our first electric mobility product using existing EV components to fast track development,” noted Rimac. “By entering different EV spaces, we can explore this fast-moving sector while gathering feedback ahead of our first electric hypercar later this decade.”
As a halo brand, Bugatti‘s prime focus remains perfecting the pinnacle of extreme performance. So while the 9.0 e-scooter won‘t directly influence Bugatti‘s future EV development, creating this buzzy brand extension allows them to quickly build EV credibility and cachet.
Bugatti‘s Luxe Scooter Carves Out a Niche
The Bugatti 9.0 targets a narrow but solvent demographic. Electric scooters fill an urban mobility niche for those seeking quicker point-to-point transport than walking yet don‘t require a car for their frequent short trips. Combining French couture and Italian attention to two-wheeled style, the 9.0 oozes premium appeal with its sleek silhouette and bright Bugatti badging.
The high-end e-scooter space currently centers around smaller boutique brands like Unagi and Yadea. While popular affordable makers like Segway and Gotrax offer more capability for less cash, style-conscious urbanites crave more designer options still. Enter the Bugatti – this Gallic take on personal e-mobility retails for around $1,200, clearing carving out an upscale market segment versus mainstream sub-$1,000 scooters.
Early reviews praise the 9.0’s visual flair yet yearn for more range, speed and overall performance. But slavishly chasing superior specs misses the point here. The Bugatti name and mystique matter more than any mechanical measure. Aficionados will pay a premium for brands carrying elite cachet and the 9.0 smartly copies the Ducati playbook.
Like Bugatti, Ducati built its reputation on high performance icons, in its case Italian superbikes ridden by MotoGP world champions. Yet the Bologna firm has profitably extended its brand into multiple market segments such as smaller displacement bikes, apparel and yes – e-scooters. Since 2018, Ducati’s electric scooters have pioneered merging couture styling with lithium-ion mobility.
Bugatti‘s 9.0 replicates that formula – wrapping a perfectly adequate powertrain and running gear in sensuous carbon fiber bodywork and an impeccable brand pedigree certain to seduce style-conscious early adopters. For those seeking a taste of French motoring royalty to zip across the city or down suburban cul-de-sacs, the 9.0‘s supple lines and exclusivity should prove highly seductive.
What This Means for Bugatti’s Electric Future
So while cynics may dismiss Bugatti’s first EV as a vastly overpriced e-scooter with lackluster specs trading solely its prancing horse badge, the 9.0 plays a pivotal strategic role for this legendary marque. First, it immediately establishes Bugatti in the booming LEV (light electric vehicle) space – a growing $41 billion global market according to Statista research.
Secondly, designing, developing and launching the 9.0 provides Bugatti vital hands-on experience engineering and selling an electric vehicle. This capability development matters tremendously as the clock ticks down to Bugatti’s 2030 target for its debut EV hypercar.
Most importantly, the 9.0 e-scooter offers a stylish brand extension letting younger, more progressive buyers engage emotionally with the Bugatti mystique before they possess the means to park a Chiron or its full EV successor in their garage.
As Daniel Lescow from Bugatti’s Sales & Operations team noted at the 9.0’s launch: “Our e-scooter is targeted at a new generation of customers…(it) jeweys Bugatti into new technologies and helps a tech-savvy audience access the brand.”
So view Bugatti’s 9.0 e-scooter as an interim EV ambassador – something for influential early adopters to enjoy flaunting today as they impatiently await the French marque’s first full-fledged electric hypercar tomorrow.
The Bottom Line
It remains rather ridiculous on paper. A storied purveyor of the world‘s most outrageously excessive automobiles selling a $1,200 scooter barely capable of cracking 20 mph. Yet Bugatti‘s unexpected foray into lifestyle e-mobility via its limited edition 9.0 e-scooter makes imminent sense viewed through multiple strategic lenses.
The 9.0‘s simultaneously staid yet sensuous shape translishes Bugatti‘s timeless aesthetic into an urban 2-wheeled form factor likely to seduce style mavens. Its brief spec sheet matters less than its undeniable curb appeal.
While clearly no Chiron killer, this first Bugatti EV allows the marque to establish its electrified bona fides and built operational expertise in advance of its hotly anticipated battery-powered hypercar. It also introduces more progressive new buyers to the brand who may someday upgrade into a multi-million dollar Bugatti flagship.
So while the Bugatti 9.0 itself remains niche, expect its sleek silhouette to become an increasingly familiar sight in cities and suburbs across the globe. This striking Swiss Army knife of a runabout foreshadows exciting electrification ahead for one of motoring‘s most celebrated marques.
