Bugatti's new $4 million hypercar has 1,800 horsepower and gauges made with titanium and rubies — see the Tourbillon

Wed, 06/26/2024 - 08:28

The front of a blue Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar. — The new Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar.
Bugatti

Bugatti unveiled its new Tourbillon hypercar powered by a 1,800 horsepower V16 hybrid engine.
The Tourbillion is named for a mechanism commonly found in high-priced precision timepieces.
The Tourbillon starts at 3.8 million EUR or roughly $4.1 million.

Bugatti recently unveiled its new flagship hypercar, the Tourbillon. The Tourbillon, pronounced toor-bee-yawn, is the successor to Bugatti's recently discontinued Chiron hypercar launched back in 2016.

The Tourbillon is also the first Bugatti in 20 years to abandon the brand's signature quad-turbo W16 engine, developed under the stewardship of Volkswagen Group, in favor of a new V16 hybrid powertrain.

"The Tourbillon had to be incomparable in every respect," Bugatti CTO Emilio Scervo said in a press release. "Our philosophy has been to take any single aspect of Chiron and elevate it, looking for elegant and sophisticated engineering solutions and new technologies to deliver a timeless masterpiece."

VW Group spun off the French hypercar brand in 2021. It is now part of a new joint venture co-owned by Croatian EV supercar maker Rimac and Porsche called Bugatti Rimac.

Unlike the Veyron and Chiron, which were named after famous racing drivers from the company's past, the Tourbillon is named after a mechanism found inside handmade precision timepieces. Tourbillon watches can easily cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Tourbillon is still in the testing phase, with customer deliveries expected in 2026.

The Tourbillon's styling is unmistakably Bugatti.

A pair of Bugatti Tourbillon hypercars driving together. — A pair of Bugatti Tourbillons.
Bugatti

The Tourbillion's styling evolves from the outgoing Chiron's aesthetics. It retains the brand's signature horseshoe grille and the Bugatti Line, which resembles a curved C on the side of the car.

Out back, the Bugatti branding is embedded into a curved light strip that runs the length of the tail.

The back of a Bugatti Tourbillon braking in a corner with its active rear spoiler deployed. — A Bugatti Tourbillon braking in a corner.
Bugatti.

According to the Bugatti, the Tourbillion's designers sought to balance the desire to create something with enduring beauty, like the timeless Bugatti Atlantic, while also ensuring the aerodynamic performance of a vehicle capable of exceeding 250mph.

The Tourbillion is equipped with a pair of electrically operated upswinging dihedral doors.

The front of a blue Bugatti Tourbillon with its doors open. — The Tourbillon with doors open.
Bugatti

This is a departure from the Veyron and Chiron, which both had conventional out-swinging doors.

The Tourbillon's biggest departure from past Bugattis is the engine.

The V16 engine in a Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar. — The Tourbillon's V16 engine.
Bugatti

The Tourbillon is powered by a new 8.3 liter naturally aspirated V16 engine paired with three electric motors that come together to produce a total of 1,800 horsepower.

The new V16 engine, developed with assistance from legendary British engineering firm Cosworth, produces 1,000 horsepower without help from the quad turbochargers found in Bugatti's previous engine and can reach 9,000 rpms.

The trio of electric motors, two mounted on the front axle and one on the rear axle, produce 800 horsepower and are paired with a 25 kWh oil-cooled battery pack to give the Tourbillon up to 37 miles in all-electric range.

The Tourbillon will send its power to the road through a new bespoke eight-speed twin-clutch gearbox.

The Tourbillon's occupants will find themselves in what may be the world's most luxurious carbon composite monocoque.

The blue leather cabin of a Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar. — The Bugatti Tourbillon's interior.
Bugatti

Like its name, the interior of the Tourbillon is inspired by horology, with analog dials at the forefront and digital displays hidden away.

The centerpiece of the interior is the gauge cluster.

The analog gauges in a Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar. — The Tourbillon's gauges.
Bugatti

The Tourbillon's gauges, designed and built with help from Swiss watchmakers, consist of more than 600 parts made of titanium and gemstones like sapphire and ruby.

The gauges are affixed to the center of the steering wheel, and the wheel's rim rotates around them.

This is a nod to the tourbillon mechanism in watches, which helps the timepieces be more precise. Tourbillons usually consist of a constantly rotating cage surrounding components inside a watch.

The Tourbillon's designers also recognized the incredible pace at which technology changes.