Bugatti Boss’s Chiron Stolen After He Left the Keys Inside

The easiest way into a multimillion-dollar Bugatti

The man who runs Bugatti says his own Chiron was stolen from a company site in Croatia after he left the keys inside. Police tracked down the car in Austria, but only after it crossed Slovenia—and after its owner, Mate Rimac, set off behind it in a Porsche 911.

Rimac, chief executive of Bugatti Rimac, recounted the episode in a social-media video and later shared surveillance footage of the car being taken. The theft happened Wednesday, October 28, near Zagreb, according to AFP and Croatian outlet N1, which reported details from Austrian police.

The Mediaite report put the car’s value at about $3.3 million. AFP reported a lower base price for the model, so the figures should be treated as estimates rather than an independently verified sale price for this particular car.

Either way, the security breach was remarkably low-tech: the key was already in the vehicle.

Updated October 31, 2026, 12:19 p.m. Central. The latest court outcome was not established in the reporting reviewed.

Why the keys were there

Rimac said he had routinely left keys in his cars, including the Chiron, partly so colleagues could move them without having to track him down. He described feeling relaxed about security in Croatia. That habit ended with this trip, he said in his account, as reported by Sky News.

According to Rimac, staff initially did not realize the car had been stolen; someone then reported seeing an unfamiliar person driving it. The security footage he posted shows a man approaching the vehicle before getting in and driving away, Road & Track reported.

Rimac later said the man told him he had come to the company looking for a job and took the car after noticing the keys. That is Rimac’s account of what the man said, not an independently established explanation of his intent.

A Porsche, a tracking system and three countries

After the theft was discovered, Rimac said he called police and checked the Chiron’s telemetry—data that can show a vehicle’s location, speed and fuel level. The car was heading toward Slovenia. He got into a Porsche 911 and followed while information was shared with officers, The Drive reported.

The Chiron made it into Austria. N1, citing Austrian police, reported that officers found it shortly after 7 p.m. local time at a gas station on the A9 near Seiersberg, south of Graz. The report said police in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria had cooperated in the search. Rimac did not personally stop the car; Austrian officers did.

The car was returned with some damage and will be repaired, according to AFP. Neither the reports reviewed nor Rimac’s public account provide a detailed verified turn-by-turn route.

Where it happened

The star marks the approximate Sveta Nedelja area west of Zagreb, where the theft was reported. The blue dot marks the approximate Seiersberg area in Austria, where police located the car. The map does not imply an exact driving route or a precise position within the company site.

Timeline

Times are local to Croatia and Austria, where both countries were observing Central European Time.

1. Wednesday, October 28Rimac’s Chiron was taken from a company site in the Sveta Nedelja area. Rimac said the keys had been left in the car. Source: AFP
2. Wednesday, after the theftRimac said he called police, checked the car’s tracking data and followed in a Porsche as the Chiron headed toward Slovenia. Source: The Drive
3. Wednesday, shortly after 7 p.m.Police located the vehicle near Seiersberg, Austria, and arrested the driver, N1 reported, citing Austrian police. Source: N1
4. Thursday, October 29Rimac publicly recounted the incident and shared surveillance footage. Source: Mediaite

What happened to the suspect?

N1 reported that Austrian police identified the suspect as a 36-year-old Croatian man and said he admitted the theft during questioning. The outlet also reported that, under the Graz prosecutor’s direction, a criminal complaint would be filed and the proceedings would continue while the man was not being held in custody. That was the reported position on October 29; the latest court outcome was not established in the reporting reviewed.

Rimac said he did not intend to press charges and even offered the man a ride home, an offer police did not allow, according to Sky News. His preference does not determine whether authorities pursue a case.

As for the recovered Chiron, Rimac said he would no longer leave keys in cars at the site. An unusually expensive lesson, with a surprisingly ordinary takeaway.

Sources and visual credits

Mediaite: reporting and surveillance footage · AFP: recovery and Rimac’s account · N1: Austrian police account · Sky News: Rimac’s account · The Drive: tracking and response.

Thumbnail: 2025 file photograph by Charles / Wikimedia Commons, CC0; cropped and used in a Newstro thumbnail composite with generated background texture. It shows a different Bugatti Chiron, not Rimac’s stolen car. Hero: generated thumbnail background texture. Map boundaries: Natural Earth, public domain.