Bugatti Tourbillon, a $4.1 Million Hybrid Hypercar to Replace the ...
(Bloomberg) -- A new Bugatti, the Tourbillon, will succeed the Chiron as the company pushes to extend its hypercar dominance and secure a stronger position within parent company Volkswagen AG.
This is the second Bugatti to come out of the Porsche AG and Rimac joint venture formed in 2021 that incorporated Bugatti in a plan to nudge it toward electrics. The reorganization at the time was seen as evidence that the French brand’s large internal combustion engine cars lacked a critical role at VW, since VW’s strategy focuses on producing EVs.
Earlier this year, the Chiron’s production run of 500 ended with the release of the $3.9 million Chiron Super Sport; the final W16-powered Bugatti models, the Bolide and W16 Mistral, begin deliveries later this year.
The €3.8 million ($4.1 million) Tourbillon coupe pairs a naturally aspirated V-16 powertrain with two electric motors placed in the front and one electric motor placed at the rear axle. The 1,800-horsepower hybrid power plant, a first at the 115-year-old company, was developed specifically for the Tourbillon, which can hit a top speed of 445 kph (276 mph), according to the French automaker.
“The Bugatti brand is about heritage, about craftsmanship, about artisan work, [and] a combustion engine very much still fits within the picture,” Bugatti Chief Executive Officer Mate Rimac told Bloomberg TV. “We felt like people still want that craftsmanship of the combustion engine.”
In press remarks about the vehicle, Bugatti Chief Technology Officer Emilio Scervo characterized the Tourbillon’s hybrid development as the “hardest possible option.” There’s a new eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a 37-mile range of all-electric driving; the powerplant reduces emissions by 70% compared to its predecessor.
The new all-wheel-drive supercar bests the performance of its 1,500-horsepower predecessor, the $2.6 million Chiron, and will compete with such electric hypercars as the $2 million Rimac Nevera and $2.2 million Automobili Pininfarina Battista. Ferrari, another potential competitor, unveiled its first-ever hybrid, the SF90 Stradale, in 2019, with special variants costing nearly $1 million.
But the cabin of the Bugatti is far more opulent than those.
At the center of the steering wheel, Swiss watchmakers created an intricate three-gauge instrument cluster with the look of a high-end wristwatch. “Tourbillon” is the French word for whirlwind; in mechanical watchmaking, a tourbillon is a mechanism that rotates components inside the watch to increase accuracy.
Made from titanium, sapphire and ruby, the skeletonized gauges remain fixed in place as the steering wheel rotates around them in a fitting embodiment of the car’s name. Bugatti did not comment on which watchmaker completed the work.
Despite the modern aesthetics of the car and the advanced motors under its hood, its interior looks analogue. The center console between the two seats blends crystal glass and aluminum to showcase control knobs and switches set along a vertical column. In a nod to the ignition setup in original Bugattis, drivers will have to pull or push a lever to start and stop.
The only screen inside the cabin, which displays Apple CarPlay and vehicle data, remains hidden unless requested by deploying it from the top of the center console. It extends to full landscape mode in five seconds.
Outside the vehicle, the body is characterized along its sides by the signature horseshoe shape that has defined both modern Bugattis and vintage Bugattis such as the Type 57SC Atlantic. The Tourbillon looks leaner than the Chiron, with a hidden rear wing that acts as an airbrake for improved stability under deceleration. Also, unlike the Chiron, the Tourbillon has two dihedral doors that allow for easy entry at the push of a button.
Bugatti executives did not specify whether they would use a version of the Tourbillon to attempt a new top-speed record, a title Bugatti has held at various times in the past. A total of 250 examples will be built. Deliveries will begin in 2026.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
