You\u2019ve been for a ride in the Tourbillon? Tell me everything, immediately.<\/p>\n
It’s familiar to start with. It has that in common with the bodywork. The rhythms and tones are similar, I recognise the throb and churn. But there\u2019s a point, a moment when that changes, when I realise just how different things are now, how fundamental the shift in philosophy. From what I can see, looking across from the passenger seat, it\u2019s about 3,000rpm. That\u2019s where this Bugatti separates from everything that\u2019s gone before, taking off on an entirely different trajectory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool, no?\u201d shouts my driver. I look across at Mate Rimac, grinning from behind the steering wheel as the engine runs down and our eardrums recover. Yeah, Mate, it\u2019s pretty cool. No, scratch that, it\u2019s ******* insane.<\/p>\n
Language!<\/p>\n
Sorry. I\u2019ve never experienced anything like this V16. It has such intensity, such ferocity that it changes not only the car\u2019s character, but Bugatti\u2019s whole trajectory. We\u2019d got used to Bugattis having that enormous blown quad turbo W16, a mammoth motor that sat heavily in the car and needed to be fed enormous quantities of air and fuel before it got up and started swinging. It was a giant in every way. Now the powerlifter has been exchanged for a track athlete. Less outright power maybe, but more explosive, quicker reactions, higher limits. Forget about hybrid for the time being. Its presence here is limited. And optional (potentially in more ways than one).<\/p>\n
Photography: Mark Riccioni<\/p>\n
The Tourbillon is an entirely different character from the Chiron<\/a>. Given that, I was surprised at how similar they looked. The Veyron<\/a> and Chiron seemed styled around the wide, stubby W16, the skin reflecting what was contained within. Maybe it\u2019s because the Bugatti signatures are so strong \u2013 the horseshoe grille, the C-surround, the open to the air engine bay \u2013 that it didn\u2019t come across to me that the design had progressed that much. And particularly that it hadn\u2019t adapted to reflect the engine that now lurked in the engine bay.<\/p>\n It looks kinda gaunt in comparison.<\/p>\n There is something sparer about the design, harder and more bony. That at least reflects the fact it is \u2013 as Mate is clearly proud of, and is potentially unique in the car industry \u2013 a hybrid that is lighter than the combustion car it replaces (here\u2019s a fascinating fact: the V16, plus twin clutch gearbox, plus electric motor all put together are the same weight \u2013 about 430kg \u2013 as the W16 alone). But the decision was taken that the design ethos shouldn\u2019t be adapted to reflect the longer, more slender engine.<\/p>\n A V16 with a crankshaft a metre long. 8,355cc. Four separate intakes. 986bhp and 664lb ft. It could have made more. Maybe one day it will. Mate tells the tale of phoning up Bruce Wood at Cosworth (this was before he\u2019d taken control of Bugatti) and asking about the possibility of a V16 and Wood, after he\u2019d got over the shock of being phoned by the \u2018electric car guy\u2019 as Mate described himself, trying to dissuade him, telling him they could make the power requirements with a V10 or V12. But of course it had to be a V16. So by the wild standards of these exotic naturally aspirated engines it\u2019s not ridiculously stressed, developing 120bhp per litre, where the higher revving T.50 and Valkyrie<\/a> are both well over 150bhp per litre.<\/p>\n Extraordinary. Has anyone dared harness a V16 before?<\/p>\n A few firms have used them, including Cadillac, Marmon and Maserati, but this is going back 100 years. A couple of prototypes and concepts have appeared more recently (Cadillac again with the Sixteen<\/a> in 2003, and BMW\u2019s 1987 Goldfisch E32 7-Series prototype<\/a>), but as far as production goes, it\u2019s just this and the 1991 Cizeta-Moroder V16T<\/a> \u2013 which went one step further in the craziness stakes by choosing to put the engine in the car cross-ways.<\/p>\n Bugatti has rightly mounted Cosworth\u2019s V16 as the centrepiece but it doesn\u2019t especially dominate the back of the car. Largely this is because of its position, so far forward that the first two cylinders are hard up against the bulkhead, just a handspan from the occupants shoulders. All about getting the masses as centralised as possible within the wheelbase. The gearbox used to sit in front, forcing the passengers to sit further apart. Now it\u2019s at the back, with an electric motor slung on the side. A slimmer transmission tunnel means the passengers can sit closer together, means the glasshouse can be narrower, means the frontal area is lower, means the aerodynamics are better. It\u2019s stuffed full of 25kWh of Rimac batteries to feed the three electric motors, with one each for the front wheels.<\/p>\n Essentially Bugatti has removed four turbos and replaced them with three electric motors. This is seen as controversial, but I\u2019d take the motors over the turbos any day. Zero lag, instant max torque etc. The trouble is, as Mate points out, most firms have used the addition of electric motors to permit the subtraction of engine capacity (see most current Ferraris and McLarens for evidence). Not here. There\u2019s not another hybrid I can think of that allows you to switch the electric power off completely and just enjoy the engine. Here you can.<\/p>\n Why fit the hybrid at all if it only adds weight, complexity and cost?<\/p>\n That\u2019s a question doing the rounds at Bugatti right now given hypercar customers seem fixated on mechanisation as the future in direct contrast to the wider car industry. A host of reasons I suspect: the right thing to do at the time development started, pushing new tech in all areas, performance benefits, making the link into Rimac and so on. But over lunch (four courses obvs) at Bugatti\u2019s Molsheim HQ, some intrigues emerge. Ears prick up when I tell people I\u2019ve recently driven Ferrari\u2019s Dodici Cilindri Manuale<\/a>, they start asking questions about the GMA T.50<\/a>, then talk turns to Bugatti\u2019s history and roots in lightweight cars back when Ettore referred to Bentleys as \u201cthe world\u2019s fastest lorries\u201d.<\/p>\n The thing with Mate\u2019s dreams is that they often seem to become reality\u2026<\/p>\n Clearly, plans are afoot for what happens after the initial 250 Tourbillons<\/a> have been built. Inevitably there will be a roadster, but what after that? A nat-asp V16 in a lightweight chassis with a manual gearbox? We can but dream. The thing with Mate\u2019s dreams is that they often seem to become reality…<\/p>\n Tourbillons will still be built in Molsheim. But they will start their journey into life at Rimac\u2019s Zagreb campus in Croatia. Molsheim has been upgraded with the construction of the new La Manufacture building alongside the existing Atelier, but both are currently largely empty. Mate takes me for a tour and explains what\u2019s going on. \u201cWe used to rely heavily on suppliers to produce components for the cars, but instead we have now moved a lot of that in house.\u201d<\/p>\n This work, along with the bulk of the engineering, is now being done in Zagreb. The cars will largely be built and painted there, before being shipped to Molsheim for final assembly. This will enable Tourbillons to be built faster, helping to reduce wait times for customers that currently extend to over three years. Finding customers is not an issue for Bugatti, it\u2019s supplying the demand.<\/p>\n Not the worst problem to have. What\u2019s it like in the metal?<\/p>\n It has astonishing presence. This one is an Equipe Pur Sang, a motorsport-inspired cosmetic pack that most customers are opting for. Why? It\u2019s got to be the eight exhaust pipes. They\u2019re as easily pleased as the rest of us. And it is that rear view that\u2019s most compelling, not only for the pipes and bold light bands, but for the diffuser and how far underneath the car you can see. It\u2019s not quite a Valkyrie, but the V16\u2019s narrowness has allowed a giant aero tunnel either side.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s something else I hadn\u2019t noticed before: the doors include the A-pillar surface, so there\u2019s no join line at the top; pillar flows into roof. I suspect the wiper\u2019s vertical resting position might look a little odd on a spec with a less overtly race vibe, but here it\u2019s fine. And on the move I rarely notice it. The doors whirr up electrically, the hinges are minimal, elegantly invisible, I drop deep down into the seat, lower the door and wriggle into place. Mate drops in next to me. It\u2019s cosy in here, you\u2019re aware of how tightly packaged the Tourbillon is. Although height and backrest adjust, the seats don\u2019t slide and the passenger footwell isn\u2019t as deep as the driver\u2019s \u2013 my feet are level with the back of the front tyres, room was needed to package the two electric motors and accessories.<\/p>\n Mate pulls the organ stop starter to fire up the engine. I love that feature. We look at each other and grin. \u201cLet\u2019s go and have some fun,\u201d he says. And we\u2019re off, through the outskirts of Molsheim, through villages, heading for the forests and hills of the Vosges. It\u2019s the perfect start. This is where you see the adaptability of the Tourbillon. Of course we start with the V16 awake. Its huge capacity gives it that same floor-trembling character as the W16, people don\u2019t so much hear it coming, as sense it via vibrations.<\/p>\n But when we enter a village, Mate twists the powertrain dial and we\u2019re cruising in on electric. The V16 hadn\u2019t felt dominant, it had been easy to talk over it, but when it goes it leaves a void. Thirty-seven miles of electric range is the promise, plus 800bhp of 4WD insta-thump. It\u2019s impressive, but in practice EV is for towns alone.<\/p>\n And for sledgehammering the horizon, right?<\/p>\n Quite. Mate has been waiting for the opportunity to fully open the taps: it comes when the camera car pulls over and it\u2019s astonishing. Unlike a 918 Spyder<\/a> where you sense a handover from electric torque to petrol power as the revs rise, here the experience is all V16. I\u2019m sure the electric impact could have been more dominant low down, but I suspect it\u2019s been held back to blend in better and let the engine shine. So what those three motors do is support and enhance the V16s work. Now it took me few times to work this all out, because for the first couple all I could think was \u2018holleeee Jeeeessssuuuuss\u2019.<\/p>\n