A Bolder Design: Embracing the true craze of a Hypercar Historically Bugatti’s have always stood out in the supercar market. Compared to the wild and crazed designs from Lamborghinis and Paganis, they appear understated and subtle. With a clear form follows performance quality look rather than the “look at me” style over substance stance of most other hypercars. The Chiron was no exception. Sure its larger stance and more dramatic style made it appear so much more “out-there” than the Veyron but relatively speaking compared to a Huayra or Sian, it looked relatively tasteful and subtle. The Tourbillon by contrast seems to take on more that “style over substance” stance in its design. Its longer nose at the front, its lower profile and its “Gatling-gun style exhausts” are clear examples. But the most obvious feature is the new butterfly dihedral doors, which carry way more drama than the Chiron’s conventional doors. A real break-out from tradition. What’s in a name: Forget heritage racers, Watches are far more exotic Speaking about breaking out from tradition, let’s discuss their names. Traditionally Bugatti’s hypercars were named after legendary former Bugatti racing drivers like Pierre Veyron and Albert Divo. The Chiron was named after Louis Chiron, a Monegasque racing driver who raced for Bugatti between 1928 and 1933. In that time he earned victories at the French Grand Prix in ’30 and ’31 and the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix in the beautiful Type 35 and Type 51 racers. Tourbillon is not related to a racing driver. It is in fact the name given to a mechanical device designed to improve accuracy in a watch. An instrument of accuracy and quality This invention was created by Abraham-Louis Breguet, a French-Swiss watchmaker in 1801. And believing their latest car embodied “accuracy” and quality, Bugatti just had to run with it. In fact, Bugatti describes the Tourbillon device as, “A completely original creation without compare, it is both complex and beautiful, helping to counteract the effects of gravity on a watch to ensure more consistent time-keeping. And over 200 years later it is still revered as the pinnacle of watchmaking.” Bespoke Engines: W is now in the past One of the most noteworthy changes between the two cars is the engine. For the last two decades, Bugatti have used an immensely powerful, immensely large and immensely complex 8.0L Quad-Turbo W16. This unit was developed by Volkswagen who combined two narrow-angle V8s and fitted four turbochargers on top. Yet clearly W engines are a thing of the past. As the Tourbillon abandons this unit for an all 8.3L Naturally Aspirated V16 unit. The first ever V16 created for a road car, built by the legendary British Engineering firm, Cosworth. However, this unit is Naturally Aspirated which Bugatti say, “enhances its soul.” Going Hybrid: For More Power The biggest change though is the Tourbillon’s use of hybrid power. Despite the likes of the P1, 918 and LaFerrari existing beforehand, the Chiron remained petrol-powered. Yet is W16 bomb produced an astonishing 1479 horsepower which was later upgraded to 1579 horsepower in the 300+mph Chiron Super Sport. Far more than any of the Holy Trinity. But astonishingly not as much as the Tourbillon. On its own the 8.3L V16 only produces 986 horsepower, a lot but nowhere near Hypercar levels. But in addition, the Tourbillon features three electric motors engineered by Rimac that combined produce 789 horsepower. Combined together that’s a whopping 1775 horsepower nearly 200 more than the Chiron SS. Astonishing Weight Achievements: Exactly the same Of course, you’re sitting there on the other side of your screen, “Yes this is all very good, but batteries are heavy so the Tourbillon's gained horsepower will be offset by the gained weight.” That would normally be the Status Quo but for this car, things have changed. For starters, the V16 powerhouse is almost 150kg lighter than the old W16 bomb. In addition, Bugatti used low-pressure thin-wall aluminium for the Tourbillon’s subframes and advanced carbon composites and carbon fibre for its body. The result is that despite the Tourbillon's triad of electric motors, both these cars have exactly the same weight figure, just shy of 2 tonnes. Performance Gains: More Rapid Acceleration and Top Speed The Chiron is a monstrously fast car. Thanks to its power being sent through a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive system, it will go from 0-62mph in a blistering 2.4 seconds. And it is so fast Bugatti have had to limit its top speed to 261 mph. Though the de-restricted Super Sport will go all the way to 305mph. But with 300 more horsepower and the same weight, the Tourbillon destroys it. Its power is also sent to all four wheels and a new 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox. 0-62mph takes an eye peeling 2.0 seconds and the top speed is limited to 276mph. Though Bugatti’s CEO Mate Rimac has plans for it to way beyond 305mph in the future. Despite Futuristic Performance, A Relatively Analog Interior Now you’d imagine being a far more technical hybrid the Tourbillon’s interior would be a wash of digital computers and screens losing that traditional craftmanship analogue design of the Chiron. But amazingly it’s the new car that features the more analogue interior. The Chiron’s interior features the highest of high-quality materials such as 3K diamonds in its speakers. But it also features a central tachometer with digital readouts and two configurable screens flanking it. Showing that it effectively blends tech with tradition. The Tourbillon though, being named after Swiss-French Watch Device is almost entirely analogue. The central dial merges the speedometer and tachometer in a single mechanism, with two arms moving independently around a shared axis. The dials that include gauges for engine, hybrid power, battery charge, and essential fluid levels are all displayed through a set of analogue indicators. That is astonishing considering most hybrids use digital information to display this information. Truly a quality interior. More Exclusive and More Costly Now of course all this engineering and quality doesn’t come cheap, so it’s no surprise Bugatti are shortening their production number. Over its eight-year run, Bugatti produced 500 Chirons with the base model starting at approximately $3,000,000. But with the Tourbillon Bugatti has capped production to just 250 units with a starting price of over $4,000,000. Certainly from a performance, technological and even quality perspective, the Tourbillon appears to wipe the floor with the Chiron and therefore this cost appears right. But to find out if these advancements truly make the Tourbillon superior, we at F1rstMotors promise to bring both cars together for the ultimate comparison of past v present. F1rstMotors: Bugatti comparisonModelTourbillonChironYear of Release20252016Engine8.3L V16 with Three Electric Motors8.0L Quad-Turbo W16Horsepower1775hp1479hpTorque2212 lb–ft1180 lb–ft0–62mph (100km/h)2.0 seconds2.4 secondsTop Speed276mph (445 km/h)261mph (420 km/h)Weight1,995kg (2 tonnes)1995 kg (2 tonnes)Power to Weight889 hp per tonne741 hp per tonneGearbox8–speed Dual Clutch7-speed Dual ClutchDriven WheelsAll Wheel DriveAll Wheel DriveAmount Produced250500 Source: CarBuzz
