Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac and other Bugatti leaders live-streamed on YouTube the premier of the Bugatti Tourbillon from the company’s mansion headquarters in Molsheim, France. The Tourbillion limited edition hypercar is the successor to the Bugatti Chiron, the first production car to reach 300 miles per hour. L’Ultime, the last of the Chiron’s limited edition of 500 cars, was recently delivered to its owner, and Bugatti has been building excitement about the next hypercar for several weeks.
Why the Bugatti Tourbillon matters
Bugatti has been working on the Tourbillion for more than two years. The Bugatti Tourbillion represents the principles of perfection of the 115-year-old company’s founder, Ettore Bugatti, and the best technological prowess. Bugatti insisted that nothing was too beautiful or too expensive and demanded perfection all aspects of the company’s cars. Other companies create hypercars, but Bugatti is in a class of its own, at the pinnacle of automotive design, engineering, and performance. The Tourbillion will be the car against which other automakers measure their own efforts.
What we know so far about the Bugatti Tourbillon
Rimac stated that the Tourbillion will be limited to 250 cars. He said earlier in a Bugatti YouTube docuseries that he argued against using all-electric technology in the next hypercar. The Tourbillon is a hybrid, combining a naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16 internal combustion engine that creates up to 1,000 horsepower with a 200 45 kilowatt-hour battery that adds another 800 horsepower to the car.
Rimac did not state performance numbers and said that testing was still ongoing. Rimac said the Tourbillon did not include automatic stop and start but would allow the driver to select ICE only, electric power only, or a hybrid mix. Rimac said that the range with electric power only is 60 to 70 miles.
There are many compelling details about the Tourbillon’s design and engineering, most of which is beyond the scope of this article. The design of the interior and the cockpit, which Rimac referred to as “Digital Detox,” includes six analog dials integrated with the steering wheel and a large cluster of toggle switches and controls on the central console.
More information about the Tourbillon will surely be released soon. There was no mention of price, which will surely be north of $5 million. Buyers accepted to purchase a Bugatti are often heavily involved in their car’s design details and selections.
