WWW.BBJ.HU 16 | 3 Special Report Budapest Business Journal | May 21 – June 3, 2021 our talent and resources? Due to the ‘Beauty, Performance, and Pedigree’: digital industrial revolution, rules from the last century will simply not apply anymore,” he predicts. the Kincsem Hyper GT New technology is lowering the barriers to entry, and digital facilities are accessible across borders, Bak argues. Twin-targets A Swiss-Hungarian- “Europe’s culture is much more colorful than is currently represented in the U.K. project to create European car industry. We need more the ultimate sports Swiss, French, and Polish EV brands in the future, and Bak Motors is planning car of tomorrow has to support those entrants with its U.K. design and development partners and reached back into Swiss finance facilities,” he says. Hungary’s history The Kincsem brand will focus on two major target groups. The first is to draw on perhaps the so-called ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), who are often car, the most famous F1, and horse racing lovers. The second name connected group is women entrepreneurs, who can relate their own story to Kincsem, as with horsepower. they are successful in business and know how to overcome their male competitors. As a luxury brand, Kincsem will present fashion products in the future, Bak says. He projects that some 40% of UHNWIs in ÉVA KASZAP the United States will be women by 2025. The company says it has partnered with U.K. companies in the Formula 1 Before creating its new luxury EV brand, the legacy of its equine namesake certainly saw potential in our idea. technology cluster and is planning to the owners of Swiss-U.K. automaker by having a series run limited to Together we have set up a world-class utilize a revolutionary chassis production Bak Motors AG did some interviews just British senior management team. Most of method that allows it to decrease its with potential customers, asking them the people worked previously at McLaren capital expenditure what their dream car would be. The 54 Group in senior positions,” Bak says. by answer many came up with was a luxury vehicles. The Kincsem Hyper GT will be combination of the instant torque and Bak Motors describes itself as “the designed by Ian Callum CBE, described 80%. acceleration of an e-motor with the world’s first fully digital car company.” by Bak Motors as one of the most Initially, there will be two vehicles, the evocative high-revolution scream of The venture was founded in 2018 by respected and celebrated British car GT and a luxury sports utility vehicle a V10 internal combustion engine, Hungarian entrepreneur Bak, Swiss designers. Callum was previously (SUV). The GT will be hand-built in company founder Tibor Bak tells lawyer Stefan Peller, and Swiss- design director for Jaguar, where he was Britain, while the plan is to build the the Budapest Business Journal in an Hungarian businessman Attila Karaszi. responsible for models including the Hyper SUV in Hungary. The company exclusive interview. “I am a car and Formula 1 enthusiast I-Pace, F-Type, XK, and XF. says it will relocate an F1-level virtual Kincsem Hyper GT promises to and entrepreneur,” Bak tells the BBJ. Bak says the decision that Kincsem development platform to Hungary. That deliver a beautifully designed carbon- “I am a typical pioneer; I am only should be reborn as a luxury brand will enable the design and development monocoque chassis driven by a hybrid interested in programs that nobody else stands on two main pillars. of the car, alongside Hungarian suppliers, powertrain combining electric motors has done before.” “The first is what Kincsem represents. She making the vehicle a Hungarian product. with a small petrol engine, possibly in a proved that nothing is impossible. She was V10 layout. Off-planet? a mare (unusual in horse racing, both then The new brand has been named in When Bak and Karaszi started negotiations and now), and her achievements are still tribute to the record-setting Hungarian to fund a company that would combine the unbeaten. We are creating products which “I am a car and Formula 1 racehorse Kincsem, meaning “my most advanced F1 virtual development are unbeatable as well in terms of beauty, enthusiast and entrepreneur. treasure” in English. The world-famous capabilities with the latest Swiss digital performance, and pedigree,” he explains. thoroughbred mare won all of her 54 finance to re-engineer the European car “Kincsem products must be at the I am a typical pioneer; I am only flat races at the end of the 19th century, industry, “most businessmen said we are top of the automotive, fashion, and interested in programs that competing in Germany, Austria, France, not living on this planet,” he recalls. tech world. This is the reason why our and the United Kingdom. The one exception was Peller. “Stefan approach is different from other original nobody else has done before.” According to the company, is also a car enthusiast and, as he knows equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We the Kincsem Hyper GT will honor how aircraft development works, he are choosing the best of the best to create a Kincsem product.” Design and engineering have passed He says the second pillar is more two stages, and the firm says it is ready historical. “As Count István Széchenyi, to present the 60% ready product to early the politician and writer known to many customers via Virtual Reality (VR). It as ‘the Greatest Hungarian,’ brought claims the revolutionary new simulation racehorse culture to Hungary and platform it uses allows it to design and technology from the U.K. at the end of the test 95% of the whole car in VR, cutting th the development time by some 50-80%. 19 The company says it is comfortable with century, its planned 2025 market entry deadline. we are bringing automotive design and The second brand the company is development capability to Hungary to developing is Helvetia, a Swiss-made support the first Hungarian brand.” product based on the same carbon- He points out that while there are aluminum hybrid chassis used in the several foreign OEMs in Hungary and a Kincsem SUV. Everything else will very well-developed supply chain, there be different in the Helvetia, however, is no Hungarian car brand. and it will utilize Swiss suppliers. It “Why? We have some of the most will be positioned as a more affordable talented engineers in the world, and we premium car with a production of can only support foreign car brands with 10,000-plus vehicles per year..