“It’s not about taking the easy way out. It’s about doing things right”. The simple way to make the Bugatti Tourbillon, the successor to the Chiron, a reality would have been to start with the Rimac Nevera and the Bugatti Chiron itself, uniting both worlds. But Mate Rimac decided to follow the path marked by Ettore Bugatti, who always said: “If it’s comparable, it’s not a Bugatti anymore.”
And that’s how the idea came about. sculpting a V16 engine. All one rare reviews and also in the midst of the era of electrification, in which few brands are venturing to develop a combustion engine. Pure petrol head romanticism. Praise be.
Squaring the circle: a never-before-seen gasoline engine combined with electric motors
Mate Rimac could have saved millions of dollars by opting for that easy route: a Rimac Nevera with the style of the Bugatti Chiron already running. But we are talking about BugattiAnd that means, above all, being different. Very different. In the end, they are authentic works of artisanal engineering worth several million euros.
Rimac was clear about it. So clear, that he managed to convince the CEO of Volkswagen to take that path: that of a hybrid hypercar that combined a non-turbocharged V16 with electric mechanics. This is what he tells in the YouTube docuseries about the Bugatti Tourbillon.The idea was to do something that no one else had, like a 16-cylinder V-engine.”
The first thing is that this block is not turbocharged, unlike previous Bugatti flagships. That would have been an easier path too: Mate Rimac admitted that with a turbo V8 they would have achieved a power similar to the Chiron’s W16.
But for the Croatian, the right thing for the successor of the Chiron was that “be as emotional as possible and for me that means it had to be atmospheric.” To put it into even more context, let’s remember that Mate Rimac’s field had been electric hypercars.
Rimac himself points out this unprecedented 8.3 liter V16 as one of the most complicated engines in the world. Among other things because it is a gigantic propeller: it measures almost a meter in lengthwhich is almost 30 cm larger than the already rather large W16 of the Chiron. This meant that it had to be squeezed into the rear and also leave room for the electric motors and battery.
This would have been impossible on an existing platform, so the task was made easier by the fact that the architecture of the Bugatti Tourbillon was completely new. Still, they had to draw on a lot of inventiveness, According to Emilio Scervo, Bugatti’s technical director.
For example, the carbon fibre monocoque chassis was chosen to serve as a battery cover and an adjustable pedal set was included. The V16 is also tilted 11 degrees towards the cabin.which also makes it easier to fit the air diffuser that extends to the rear from the middle of the Tourbillon.
Thanks to the efforts of the Bugatti Rimac team, although Cosworth also did its bitthis crazy dream has become a reality. In the Bugatti Tourbillon, this Naturally aspirated rear-mid-engine V16, 1,000 hp and 900 Nm with three electric motors: two on the front axle and the third on the rear, coupled to the dual-clutch gearbox. Wonderful.
And the Bugatti Tourbillon has managed to be more powerful than the Chiron (1,500 hp), but also lighter: together it signs the 1,800 hp for 1,995 kgIt’s not that it’s a lightweight, but we must not forget that it’s a hybrid car.
The numbers are certainly heart-stopping: It does 0-100 in 2.0 seconds and 0-200 in less than 5 seconds.. The tip of the Tourbillon is fixed in 445 km/h: The Chiron reached 420 km/h. Admittedly, this was done with a special function, otherwise it would stop at 380 km/h, but it still reaches that fantastic figure.
“Bringing together beauty, passion, history and technology to ensure that it is not only a worthy successor, but also an authentic Bugatti” was one of the maxims set by Mateu Rimac for this Tourbillon. He has achieved it, hasn’t he?
Photo: Wikimedia.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
