Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac left the keys in his Chiron for staff, then chased the thief in a Porsche 911 while he stopped to fill up half a tank

Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac tracked down his stolen three million dollar Chiron after he left the keys sitting inside the vehicle. The situation started at the company campus in Croatia when an unauthorized person drove the hypercar away. An employee noticed the unfamiliar driver and realized something was wrong once the team confirmed nobody had permission to take the car.

Mate Rimac explained in an Instagram video, as first highlighted by BroBible, that he routinely leaves keys in his cars at the campus so employees can move or test them without finding him first. This habit worked fine for a long time, but it backfired when someone decided to take advantage of the setup. Once the theft became apparent, the team contacted the police and prepared to track the suspect down.

The company used the telemetry system in the Chiron to monitor its speed, location, and fuel levels. While the suspect had a one hour head start, Rimac jumped into a Porsche 911 to begin his own pursuit.

A half tank of gas kept the chase going

The chase moved toward Slovenia and eventually crossed the border into Austria. Rimac and the investigators hoped the suspect would run out of fuel during the trip. Instead, the driver reportedly stopped to add half a tank of gas.

Rimac suggested the suspect did not pay for the fuel, saying “he just filled up half the tank and continued onwards.” He said the Austrian police did a fantastic job, noting that one officer was in the team’s group chat with constant location updates before officers caught the suspect.

After the police caught the suspect, a Croatian man in his 30s, Rimac reportedly met with him. While Rimac decided he did not want to press charges, the man could still face prosecution from the authorities.

Rimac warned others against trying to take his cars in the future, saying “we have all the data, and you can’t do anything with the car without us.” He also said he will stop leaving his keys inside his vehicles. Keys left in a car can put more than the vehicle at risk, as a stolen car’s GPS leading home showed.

Rimac’s company also produces the Nevera, which is one of the fastest electric hypercars available. The Nevera has set many performance records and previously gained attention for its performance against the Tesla Model S Plaid.

Porsche previously owned 45% of Bugatti Rimac. The situation ended with the car recovered and the suspect caught by Austrian police.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the suspect’s side of the story, as this account comes solely from Rimac’s Instagram video.