The Tourbillon's Powerplant: Going Hybrid and Back to Natural Aspiration Bugatti’s 8.0l quad-turbo W16 is one of the greatest engines of the 21st century. An unruly, roaring, powertrain of torque, power and speed. However, due to recent stringencies on emissions and regulations, this engine has been forced into retirement, much like Lamborghini’s 5.2l V10 and Jaguar’s 5.0l Supercharged V8. So with the new Tourbillon, Bugatti have decided to play a different kind of game. Firstly to tackle the emission regulations, the new car is a hybrid. It features a triad of electric motors engineered by Rimac that combined produce 789 horsepower. But its main source of power is its brand new 8.3L 986 horsepower Naturally aspirated V16. Read More Bugatti Tourbillon v Bugatti Chiron: 8 Key Major Advancements Bugatti's Latest Marvel brings over its 8-year-old Predecessor When combined with the EV setup generates 1,775 horsepower. Yet thanks to clever engineering, this unit weighs almost 150kg less than the W16. The result is a predicted 0-62mph in 2.0 seconds and a limited top speed of 276mph. But the biggest advancement isn’t the speed gained, rather it’s the soundtrack. Prototype Confirms the Tourbillon is Bugatti’s best-sounding car Spy shots released by Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac reveal a camouflaged Tourbillon under testing, where for the first time, fans can hear the brand new bespoke V16. This engine was developed by legendary British Engineers Cosworth with a redline of 9,000rpm. In addition, Bugatti claim that ditching turbo in favour of natural-aspiration has “enhanced the Tourbillon’s soul.” And it certainly has done. Even though the old Chiron sounded incredible, the turbocharging led to some rather baffling muffles and whooshes. But with the Tourbillon, there are no muffles, just a high-octane screaming roar. Like a polar bear being attacked by a killer whale. It sounds ungodly, it sounds real, it sounds authentic, it sounds fan-bloody tastic. The fact that Bugatti even commissioned this engine to be built is astonishing in its own right. Considering most modern engines are muffled and barely make any noise the fact this monster sounds as is really a celebration. Despite the EV future, clearly, the blokes at Cosworth understand that an engine needs to roar and scream. Now all we have to do is wait for the first road tests of the $4,000,000 monster. Source: Mate Rimac Instagram
