Behold The 1800 PS Bugatti Tourbillon: Looks And Costs A Billion Bucks

Quick Highlights

• Bugatti Tourbillon revealed as successor to the Chiron.

• Gets a 8.3-litre V16 engine paired with a hybrid system featuring three electric motors.

• Combined output of 1800PS takes the car from 0-100kmph in 2 seconds.

• Exterior styling is an evolution of Chiron, despite sharing no parts.

• Interior has been beautifully crafted with analogue elements designed by Swiss watchmakers

• Limited to 250 units and costs 3.6 million Euros (32.1 crore converted)

Bugatti has played a significant role in shaping the automotive industry in the past two decades by churning out performance benchmarks with their hypercars from time and time again. The last chapter narrated by the Chiron began in 2016, and it was time for redefining their concept of performance and luxury. Behold the Bugatti Tourbillon, a 1800PS naturally aspirated V16-powered successor to the Chiron, which is based on an entirely new powertrain and platform. 

It is the latest product of their modern era, yet has a certain mechanical timelessness elegance to it. The analogue inspiration behind the Bugatti Tourbillon is pretty evident right from the beginning – its name. The word Tourbillon actually denotes a mechanism in mechanical watches, which is meant to improve accuracy. In typical Bugatti fashion, the blokes have gone above and beyond to make sure the intricacies are the best they can get, even if they are hidden away behind some panel. Don’t let us bore you with words, here, watch the video below to know what we have been blabbering about:

 

 

 

 

 

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Powertrain

If you watched the video above, you probably recognised that this is no normal powertrain. Instead of downsizing and heavily electrifying the powertrain, Bugatti opted for a V configuration with an even bigger displacement! With a V16 engine underneath the hood, the crankshaft of the Tourbillon is nearly a metre long!

The 8.3-litre V16 is good for 1000 PS and 900 Nm, and has a 9000 RPM redline. Working in tandom with the mammoth of an engine are three electric motors – one at the rear axle and two at the front. They are powered by a 25kWh battery pack and help boost the Tourbillon’s overall combined output to 1800PS. 

Shift the 8-speed DCT into gear, floor the throttle and your brain will be smashed against your own skull as the car will propel to a 100kmph in just 2 seconds. 3 seconds later, you’d have touched 200kmph and it takes less than 10 seconds to cross 300kmph. Of course, power is sent to all four wheels via a torque vectoring system (sending the right amount of power to the wheel with maximum traction), because imagine managing 1800PS to the rear wheels only! Bonkers is an understatement here. Oh, and the top speed is limited to 380kmph, and if incase it happens to be not good enough for whatever reason, you can always use the speed key to increase that to 445kmph. 

Courtesy of its hybrid side of things, the Tourbillon can also run for up to 60 kms on pure electric range. The best part is, despite the hybrid tech, the Tourbillon is lighter than the Chiron and tips the scale at around 1995kgs. 

Design

Remove the ‘Bugatti’ emblem from the exterior and one will still be able to identify the brand by just looking at the Tourbillon. That’s because the styling keeps with the brand identity and feels more of an evolution over the Chiron and even the Veyron, despite it not sharing any components with those two vehicles.

The design looks a lot sharper in some places, while it feels more rounded in others. It builds on the design signatures of the models of the past with its horseshoe grille, the C-shaped contouring and the dual color treatment. 

Some might draw design parallels with the Mclaren P1 with the similar strip of LED light curving the tail, but the Tourbillon’s diffuser will eat the Mclaren for fun. The rear wing looks massive, but is utilised for high downforce at low speeds and as an airbrake under deceleration. Otherwise, it remains submerged to give the car a clean uninterrupted design and will help for aerodynamics when going full blast. 

One thing for sure is that the Tourbillon does look as fast as it can go, yet doesn’t feel overly aggressive or unforgiving like a few hypercars do. The definition of performance and luxury combined.

Interior

Gorgeous. Analogue. Timeless. The overall curved dashboard design of the Tourbillon is the same as seen in other Bugattis, but that isn’t the highlight here. While other carmakers are going heavy on digitisation, Bugatti has gone the other way. The entire focus is on timelessness, and you can see the same in multiple places.

The instrument cluster is crafted by Swiss watchmakers – a truly timeless piece of design and engineering, which is so much better than a tasteless flat screen with no character. It makes use of 600 elements, constructed from titanium, and gemstones like sapphire and ruby. 

Zoom out and you’ll appreciate the fixed hub steering wheel. Its rim rotates around the cluster and the centerpiece, offering an unobstructed view irrespective of the steering angle. The centrepiece too is made up of crystal glass and aluminium materials – milled from a single block of metal. 

Now, because of regulations, the Tourbillon isn’t exactly screen-less. It gets a sleek screen hidden away in the central tunnel itself. It pops up when you need and it has a bit of theater to it in the way it comes out and rotates. Chic. If we could, we wouldn’t mind spending stupendous amounts of time doing nothing here.

Bugatti is only going to produce 250 examples of the Tourbillon, and yes, all of them have already been sold. Customer deliveries are anticipated for sometime in 2026 with a starting price of 3.6 million Euros (Rs 32.1 crore converted).

Also Read: Volkswagen Experiences: A Community-driven Adventure Kicks Off In Style

True, this might just be another million dollar hypercar for millionaires, but we take solace in the fact that something like this exists in the world. Thank you, Bugatti, for giving us a chance to admire the pinnacle of automotive engineering.