Bugatti has unveiled the successor to its iconic quad-turbo hypercars, and it’s a hybrid. Leaning on the electric hypercar expertise of majority owner Rimac, the Bugatti Tourbillon is a celebration of both petrol power and high-performance hybrid systems. Limited to 250 examples and priced from €3.
8 million ($6.1 million) each, Bugatti’s newest hypercar is powered by a naturally aspirated 8.3-litre V16 engine, developed in part by Cosworth.
It’s capable of producing up to 746kW of power and 900Nm of torque on its own, hitting the rev limiter at an ear-piercing 9000rpm. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. However, it’s aided by three electric motors – two on the front axle and one on the rear – which contribute an additional 597kW, bringing its total power outputs to 1343kW.
That’s 240kW more than the quad-turbo W16 engine of the Centodieci, which was the most powerful Chiron-based model. Drive is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, while the electric motors are fed by a 24.8kWh (gross) battery pack running on an 800-volt electric architecture.
Bugatti claims the Tourbillon can be driven for more than 60km on electric-only power, but the hybrid system arguably provides its most impressive figures when teamed with the V16. With the V16 hybrid in optimal operating conditions Bugatti claims it can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 2.0 seconds – a four-tenth saving co.
