Bugatti’s new hypercar has 1,800 horsepower and an impressive roar, too
Bugatti unveiled its new Tourbillon hypercar last summer to replace the outgoing Chiron hypercar, and, like the Chiron, Bugatti said the Tourbillon would have a 16-cylinder engine under the hood. The Tourbillon makes 1,000 horsepower, and now, thanks to Mate Rimac, we know what it sounds like.
In debuting the engine note on Instagram, Rimac said simply, “This is what the production car will sound like.”
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While the Chiron was powered by a 8.0-litre W-16 engine, the Tourbillon’s is an 8.3-litre V-16. That engine makes the bulk of the Tourbillon’s power, with an additional 800 horsepower provided by three electric motors, two in the front and one in the rear.
The Tourbillon’s body is made from carbon fibre to maximise lightness, and the profile of the car is said to be a bit more aerodynamic than the outgoing Chiron. Bugatti said in the summer that it expects the car to top out at 276 mph (444 km/hr), at least officially, with a speedometer that can actually go to 341 mph. Zero to 60 mph (96.5 km/hr) times should be two seconds or less, with a zero to 186 mph (299 km/hr) time of 10 seconds.
Bugatti is planning to make just 250 Tourbillons, each with a price tag of just over US$4 million, with production to start next year.
“Yes, it is crazy to build a new V16 engine, to integrate it with a new battery pack and electric motors, and to have 3-D-printed suspension parts and a real Swiss watchmaker instrument cluster,” Rimac said in June after the car’s unveiling. “But it is what Ettore Bugatti would have done.”
For the video published Monday, Rimac was in Italy at the Nardò Ring with a camouflaged version of the Tourbillon. The car’s naturally aspirated V-16 itself is a statement beyond the noise, considering how rare 16-cylinder engines have become and even 12-cylinder engines in the realm of new supercars and hypercars. The fact that Rimac is behind it is more surprising, given that he made his name with all-electric supercars.
But a V-16 is also the sentimental choice, harkening back to the cylinder wars of the 1930s. The V-16 is probably among the last of its kind, enough of an excuse for a little sentiment, or at least a little more noise.
This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Bugatti
