Bugatti's CEO Mate Rimac down car thief - then offers him lift home

The head of the luxury car-maker Bugatti has promised to stop leaving his keys in his own car after his £2m model was stolen from a company site in Zagreb.

Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac, a Croatian citizen born in Bosnia, said in a post on Instagram on Thursday that the Bugatti Chiron was recovered by police in Austria after he had chased the thief.

Standing in front of the car in the online video, Mr Rimac said: "I'm so proud of Croatia being so safe that I'm very relaxed, meaning I always leave my keys inside my cars, including Chiron and Nevera.

"I do that for years and nothing ever happened of course until something did happen now, so I will not do that anymore and don't try your luck."

Leaving the keys inside was also a matter of convenience, he explained, allowing workers to move the car without having to contact him, as he was "always busy".

CCTV of the theft itself and pictures of Mr Rimac with police officers in Austria were also uploaded to his account.

Once the theft was discovered at the company's production and technology campus near Zagreb on Wednesday, Mr Rimac, also the founder and CEO of the Rimac Group, set off after the thief in a Porsche 911.

He contacted police and used the Chiron's telemetry, or tracking system, to trace it, telling officers it was being driven towards neighbouring Slovenia.

Officers found and arrested the suspect in Austria, helped by updates shared by Mr Rimac in a group chat.

The CEO said he met the suspect, a Croatian man in his mid-30s, at a police station in Austria.

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The man explained that he had come to the company looking for a job and took the car after seeing the keys inside.

Though the CEO said he would not be pressing charges, he warned the suspect would be prosecuted due to the car's high value. He also wanted to give the man a lift home back to his family but was not allowed to by the police.

The car, which was damaged, will be repaired.

The Chiron, described on the Bugatti website as the "ultimate hyper sports car", was launched in 2016, has a base price of €2.4m (£2m) and can reach speeds of 260 mph (420 kmh).

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