Bugatti boss says V16 manual hypercar ‘a dream’

The transition of Bugatti away from its long-held Volkswagen Group ownership is almost complete, with the final few W16-powered models making their way to customers, ahead of the launch of the V16-powered Tourbillon.

Having been founded in its modern iteration by the German car giant in 1998, Volkswagen-owned Porsche recently sold its 45 per cent stake in the Bugatti-Rimac joint venture (established in 2021) to a New York-based consortium, ending the almost three-decade long relationship.

Now with Rimac Automobili founder Mate Rimac serving as CEO, Bugatti is off in a new direction, with the Croatian refusing to rule out future models gaining a manual transmission – something the brand hasn’t done before.

“Yes, definitely. Definitely. I agree 100 per cent,” Rimac said when asked by Road and Track whether Bugatti could finally offer a manual. 

“Imagine [a] V16 with a manual. Real manual.”

It’s worth noting that there have been manual Bugattis in the past, though these were from the original iterations of the company (1909-1963) or under its Italian-based reboot (1987-1995) which led to the quad-turbo, V12 all-wheel drive and manual EB 110.

Ever since the modern Bugatti company launched, its hypercars – such as the Veyron, Chiron and Mistral – have only featured dual-clutch automatic transmissions, given the sheer power and torque of the quad-turbo W16 engine powering them.

The upcoming Bugatti Tourbillon is perhaps the most viable candidate for a manual, or at least its powertrain is.

Powered by a Cosworth-developed 8.4-litre V16 engine, it produces a claimed 735kW and 900Nm of petrol power alone, not counting the additional three electric motors (two at the front, one at the rear) to make it all-wheel drive.

Though the hypercar is already being confirmed as having an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic to feed that power to the ground, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the V16 could be mated to a manual, even if it has to go without the hybrid technology.

Bugatti currently operates a Solitaire program for one-off, bespoke vehicles, developed for customers with seriously deep pockets.

Given the Tourbillon has yet to reach production, it’s too early to say whether this division could produce Rimac’s dream, though it provides the most likely pathway.

The executive’s comments of wanting a “real manual” also highlight a desire to fit a dedicated transmission, rather than adapt the dual-clutch automatic to replicate a manual.

In June, Ferrari revealed the 12Cilindri Manuale, adopting a ‘Manuale By-Wire’ system, with a six-speed gated shifter which allows the driver to manually choose the first six of the forward-moving gears in the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The gears can be selected by pressing the clutch pedal which has no physical connection to the clutch packs. Instead, pressing the pedal activates an angle position sensor which tells the system how much pressure to apply, with the car’s electronic brain simulating the effect of a true clutch system.