Overview
- The theft occurred on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, when a man entered the open Rimac campus near Zagreb, found keys left inside a Bugatti Chiron, and drove off without permission.
- Employees and CEO Mate Rimac tracked the car using the Chiron’s live telemetry—location, speed and fuel level—and shared updates in a company group chat while Rimac pursued the vehicle in a Porsche 911.
- The car crossed Slovenia into Austria and Austrian police, who received real-time location updates, intercepted the vehicle and arrested a Croatian man in his mid-30s who said he had come to the campus seeking work.
- Rimac met the suspect at an Austrian police station, said the Chiron suffered minor damage that will be repaired, declined to press personal charges, and warned authorities can still prosecute because of the car’s high value.
- The incident exposed lax key-handling and open-campus access at the Rimac site, showed how modern vehicle telemetry can enable cross-border recoveries, and is already prompting changes to company security practices.