Bugatti has revealed its latest model, the Bugatti Tourbillon, which is a hybrid car with incredible power and a high price tag. This car will replace the Bugatti Chiron, which costs $3.3 million and has 1,500 horsepower. One might have expected Bugatti’s new model to be fully electric. This is because the automotive industry is increasingly moving towards electric vehicles, and in 2021, Bugatti was separated from the Volkswagen Group and joined with Rimac, a Croatian company known for its all-electric Rimac Nevera supercar.
However, Mate Rimac, the CEO of the new company called Bugatti Rimac, has stated that they never intended to make an all-electric Bugatti. Instead, Bugatti Rimac’s engineers and designers aimed to create something that stays true to the traditional power of Bugatti cars while incorporating modern technology: an incredibly powerful plug-in hybrid.
The upcoming Bugatti Tourbillon will feature a large 16-cylinder gasoline engine, developed in partnership with Cosworth, along with three powerful electric motors. With one motor in the rear and two in the front, the electric motors are set to deliver at least 800 horsepower independently, contributing to the car’s total power output of at least 1,800 horsepower, as confirmed by Bugatti Rimac.
The electric motors will compensate for the absence of turbochargers in the new gas engine. Unlike the Chiron, which had four turbochargers, the Tourbillon’s engine is designed to be “naturally aspirated,” with no turbochargers, aiming to create an exceptionally thrilling and emotive combustion engine, as stated by Mate Rimac. Similarly, the car’s interior pays homage to traditional machinery, reflected in its name, “Tourbillon,” which refers to a set of gears in a mechanical watch that ensures precision. The instrument display in the Bugatti Tourbillon is inspired by the dials of mechanical watches.
“One of the first things we did when the new company was formed, I took the whole team to Switzerland, and we visited a few watchmakers,” Rimac said.
The central speedometer display has two needles, similar to the hands of a clock. The long hand shows the car’s speed, while the shorthand registers the revolutions per minute of the high-revving 16-cylinder engine.
When fully charged, the car can travel about 37 miles on electric power before the gas engine needs to kick in, but the driver can choose to run the gas engine continuously if they prefer. Unlike previous Bugatti’s, the Tourbillon does have a reasonably large display screen, with Apple CarPlay available. However, the screen will only emerge when the driver requests it. Bugatti designers consciously avoided installing screens in the cars, believing that computer displays quickly appear outdated.
Rimac stated, “We consider how this product will look in 50 years, 100 years. It’s clear that if you have a screen, it won’t look great.” The cars will continue to be hand-assembled at Bugatti’s small factory in Molsheim, France, with only 250 Tourbillons planned for production, starting at roughly $4 million each, as per Mate Rimac.
