Bugatti goes lo-fi

As the motoring world embraces electric, Bugatti is going all-in on natural aspiration.

Its new Tourbillon hypercar – the successor to the Veyron and Chiron – has ditched the quad-turbo W16, but not for dull, old electric motors, but with essentially two naturally aspirated V8s bonded into one gigantic, nirvana-sounding engine.

Revving to 9000rpm – and sounding like the highest-tech V8 you’ve ever heard – this new V16 packs a whopping 8.3 litres of displacement and produces 745kW and 900Nm all on its own. Or 1000 horsepower in the old money.

The engine is developed by famed engine builder Cosworth in the UK, the same company that made the 3.9-litre V12 for the GMA T50 and the 6.5-litre V12 for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, both high-revving naturally aspirated units. (Cosworth also has a fairly storied motorsport history – to put it lightly. Ever heard of the DFV?)

With a crankshaft one metre long, Bugatti had to tilt this new V16 forward ever so slightly in order to make it fit in the car. That’s because while the engine is 40cm longer than the old W16, Bugatti didn’t want to have to build a physically longer car.

The Tourbillon – which costs a cool A$6m – sends its hydrocarbon-fuelled power through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission mounted at the back of the engine. In the Chiron, the gearbox was mounted in front of the engine. Driving the rear wheels is an electronically-locking rear differential.

Of course, there’s a small catch with the fitment of the naturally aspirated engine – and that’s a plug-in hybrid system, but one packing enough grunt to make the Tourbillon, in its electric-only mode, a powerful EV in its own right.

Two 250kW electric motors drive the front axle, while an additional 250kW single electric motor drives the rear – permitting all-wheel-drive in electric-only mode, but also proper torque vectoring which should make for some pretty spookily-good handling.

Thanks to a 24.8kWh (gross) battery, the plug-in hybrid Tourbillon can complete around 60km in its electric-only mode – according to the WLTP standard. Impressively, the Tourbillon only weighs 1995kg (DIN), about the same as the Chiron it replaces.

Bugatti has not given any information on AC or DC recharging times, but that’s something for one of your staff to worry about, anyway. There’s no information about fuel consumption, either, but expect it to be truly berg-melting.

Combined, the electric motors and massive, free-breathing V16 produce 1342kW – and make for some unbelievable performance. Bugatti claims 0-100km/h takes a gut-churning 2.0sec, 0-200km/h a truly frightening 5.0sec (or less) and 0-300km/h less than 10 seconds. Top speed is claimed as 445km/h for now – and take the limiter off and we’re betting it’s a fair bit higher than that.

We’re sure it’s not too long until Bugatti proves it.