Bugatti Tourbillon: A R72.8m masterpiece unleashed
Bugatti is set to retire its eight-year-old Chiron and wants to replace it with something that is extraordinarily out of this world and carries the Tourbillon nameplate.
It is the first product to come out of the Rimac-Bugatti joint venture, which was announced in 2021. Just so you know, Rimac and Porsche joined forces, leading to the creation of Bugatti-Rimac, and the Croatian engineering firm now holds 55% of the joint venture, while Porsche owns 45%, but that’s a story for another day.
Back to the Tourbillon and everything about it is entirely new. From the V16 engine to the suspension and monocoque, it’s a brand-new hypercar that signifies a new direction for the French marque.
Unlike the Chiron and models before it, which had a massive W16 engine, it has an 8.3-litre naturally-aspirated V16 powerplant, engineered with the help of Cosworth, weighs only 252kg. It's not solely responsible for driving; instead, it’s paired with three electric motors, two mounted on the front axle, while the third motor is fitted at the back to assist with rotating the rear wheels.
An 800V, 25kWh battery pack powers the motors, providing the hypercar with an EV range of up to 60km. Power? Well, the setup is good for a monstrous 1,342kW of power. That’s about the same as seven VW Golf 8 GTIs.
It shuffles through an 8-speed longitudinal DCT transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential, and looking at the performance figures, there is just one way to describe them. Epic. Weighing about 1,995kg, the Tourbillon will blister from 0-100km/h in 2 seconds before maxing out at 380km/h or 445km/h when you fiddle with the "Speed Key".
As for its looks, we will leave you to enjoy the images, but be sure to check out the horseshoe grille, the Bugatti Line, the central ridge, the dual colour split, and aerodynamic bits and pieces. It rides on bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres that measure 285/35R20 at the front and 345/30R21 at the rear.
Inside, it doesn’t feature any form of digitisation because Bugatti is of the belief that touchscreens and digital screens appear outdated. The hypercar's design philosophy prioritises timelessness instead. However, this is not entirely true, as the hypercar features a high-definition digital screen that showcases the car's data and other smartphone functions. This screen can be deployed from the top centre console in two seconds for the reversing camera and five seconds for the full landscape mode.
Speaking of timelessness, it features an analogue experience that comes in the form of an instrument cluster designed and built with Swiss watchmakers' expertise. Other features include a centre console that blends glass and aluminium, a pull-to-start, and a push-to-cease engine that nods to the rituals of historic vehicles.
Bugatti has entered the testing phase for the Tourbillon, with customer deliveries scheduled to commence in 2026. Bugatti plans to build only 250 examples, each priced at €3,800,000, or roughly R72.8 million.
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