When the Bugatti Tourbillon took middle stage in June of 2024, almost the whole lot written about it (together with the piece I wrote) fawned over its meticulous sprint, its stunning curves, and included each chrono-pun one may consider. Lastly, Bugatti has given us a peek at what’s really underneath the hood.
And whoa! It is not simply good, it is an engineering marvel (very similar to the Tourbillon’s sprint). Certain, each high-end unique automobile firm is in a continuing race to outdo each other – higher engine, higher aero, extra grip, extra expertise, and so forth … However what Bugatti has completed with the Tourbillon is a masterpiece of mechanical integration for saving house and weight, and turning the effectivity dial to 13 … you understand … as a result of analog clocks solely go to 12 …
Should you learn my earlier items on Koenigsegg’s Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission (to Koenigsegg’s credit score, it used the title “Tourbillon” a full 12 months earlier than Bugatti unveiled its automobile) or the 800-hp Dark Matter electric motor within the Gemera, you understand I’ve a love for all issues motor. Each inside combustion engines and electrical motors have their professionals and cons and every has a time and place … within the case of Bugatti’s newest flagship hypercar, that point and place is collectively within the Tourbillon.
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Bugatti’s now-signature naturally aspirated V16 sits within the rear of the Tourbillon. Mated to that stunning 968-hp (735-kW) V16 is an torque-vectoring 8-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 335-hp (250-kW) electrical pulling triple obligation: a starter, a generator, and a torque booster.
If I did not make it clear earlier, this Bugatti is all about integration.
Bugatti has used a quad-turbo setup for the reason that EB110, launched again in 1991. In 2005, the quad-turbo, W16-engined, 253-mph (407-km/h) Veyron hit the road. Then each two years got here a brand new Veyron: The Grand Sport, the Tremendous Sport (which held the world velocity document for a bit), adopted by the Grand Sport Vitesse. Every just about regarded the identical, only a tad sooner.
By 2016, the Bugatti Chiron was born, additionally sporting the quad-turbo W16. 4 extra Chiron iterations have been made via 2024, together with the track-focused Divo, the one-off and world’s costliest automobile on the time Bugatti La Voiture Noire (which interprets roughly to “I’m Batmannnn!”), the US$8.8-million Bugatti Centodieci, and the observe solely Bugatti Bolide (are you able to say 300-plus mph?). The primary Bugatti-Rimac collaboration and the final of the quad-turbo 8-liter W16 line was the 2024 Bugatti Mistral.
Gone is the heavier W16 and gone is the burden and complication of 4 turbos and related plumbing. The Tourbillon was even in a position to shed two radiators from earlier W16 Bugatti fashions. Its eight radiators deal with the whole lot from excessive and low-temp loops to grease cooling – which is how Bugatti cools the Tourbillon’s batteries that energy its three identically spec’d electrical motors.

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It will get to be a bit extra magical with what’s occurring up entrance. Much like the Darkish Matter within the Koenigsegg, a single housing unit sits between the entrance tires – and that is the place the similarities finish. In it are two gearboxes and two electrical motors, every linked to its personal wheel giving the Tourbillon all-wheel drive. Every electrical motor pumps out 335 hp and spools as much as an unimaginable 24,000 rpm, targeted extra on high-speed light-weight effectivity versus low-end torque.
Did I point out integration?

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The T-shaped 800-volt battery that powers the EV aspect of issues would not also have a case. It might weigh an excessive amount of to style a battery cowl – as an alternative, the monocoque physique of the Tourbillon is the case. Its 1,500-plus cells will get round 37 miles (60 km) of vary in pure EV mode, not that vary is a precedence for the Tourbillon … extra like zero engine lag, loopy velocity and energy, and essentially the most environment friendly, compact, light-weight design potential for pure efficiency.
Is it even a hybrid anymore? Or a concord?
BUGATTI – A NEW ERA: Hybrid Energy
Supply: Bugatti
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