It might have retired its iconic W16 engine, but Bugatti isn’t ready to go all-electric just yet – even with EV pioneer Mate Rimac at the helm.
Instead, the French hypercar maker is doubling-down and its latest creation, called the Tourbillon, is powered by an all-new, one-metre-long V16 engine. It has the same number of cylinders as its Chiron and Veyron predecessors, but ditches the quad-turbo setup for natural aspiration and gains a hybrid system with three electric motors.
Hooked up to a 25 kWh battery and an 800-volt architecture, these motors alone produce 600 kW (800 horsepower). They can be used to drive more than 37 miles on electricity alone. Or, they can be combined with the engine for a total output of 1,800 horsepower. That might mean the engine is down considerably on the 1,600hp power plant of the Chiron Super Sport, which T3 drove a couple of years ago, but the total output of the hybrid Tourbillon makes it the most powerful Bugatti yet.
Bugatti says the all-wheel-drive Tourbillon can sprint to 62 mph (100km/h) in 2.0 seconds, pass 124 mph (200 km/h) in under five seconds, and reach 186 mph (300 km/h) in less than 10 seconds. The latter is more than two seconds quicker than the Chiron Super Sport. Top speed is limited to 236 mph, unless the driver pulls over and inserts the famous Bugatti ‘speed key’. This removes the limiter and allows the Tourbillon to reach 276 mph.
Despite its enormous engine and hybrid system, Bugatti says the Tourbillon weighs under 1,995 kg, while maximum torque is 900 Nm, or 665 ft-lbs. The engine is attached to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with electronic limited-slip differential, and Bugatti says the two front motors enable full torque vectoring, where their output is shuffled between the front wheels depending on which has the most grip.
Speaking about the new car, Bugatti boss Rimac said: “It is crazy to build a new V16 engine, to integrate with a new battery pack and electric motors and to have a real Swiss-made watchmaker instrument cluster and 3D- printed suspension parts and a crystal glass centre console. But it is what [Bugatti founder] Ettore would have done, and it is what makes a Bugatti incomparable and timeless."
Why is it called the Tourbillon?
As watch fans will know, Tourbillon is a word used to describe a fantastically complicated (and often equally expensive) watch movement. Invented by French horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1795, its major components spin in a cage in a bid to offset the pull of gravity, which can otherwise interfere with the delicate components of a watch movement, causing it to fall out of time.
Bugatti is using the name because its new Tourbillon ditches digital displays in favour of an analogue instrument cluster, designed and built with the expertise of Swiss watchmakers. Comprising more than 600 parts, it is constructed from titanium and features gemstones like sapphires and rubies, just like the intricate movement of a Swiss watch.
Bugatti says: “The skeletonised cluster is built to the largest tolerance of 50 microns, with the smallest at five microns [0.005 mm], and weighs just 700g. This intricately engineered masterpiece remains a focal point of the driving experience, fixed in place as the rim of the steering wheel rotates around it – a set-up known as a fixed hub steering wheel. Through this ingenious concept Tourbillon drivers have an unobstructed view of their instrumentation independent of the steering angle because the spokes reach around the back of the instrument cluster.”
A similar approach has been applied to the centre console, which also lacks any form of touchscreen infotainment – at least at first glance. The console is made from crystal glass and aluminium, and houses switchgear similar to that of the Chiron, where rotating dials house digital displays showing media volume and cabin temperature. A small display for vehicle data and Apple CarPlay deploys from the dashboard only when the driver needs it, then switches to a portrait orientation to show a parking camera feed when reverse is selected.
Emilio Scervo, Bugatti chief technical officer, said: “The Tourbillon had to be incomparable in every respect…Ultimately, we chose the hardest possible option, creating a powertrain from scratch and pairing it seamlessly with a complex system of e-motors, a new generation eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and more, all developed from the ground up specifically for the Tourbillon.
Buagtti says it plans to hand-build just 250 examples of the Tourbillon. Prices start at around £3.2 million before tax and customer deliveries are due to begin in 2026.
