- The high-revving 8.3-liter mill from Cosworth delivers a hefty 986 hp without hybrid assistance.
- Like the Veyron and Chiron, the Tourbillon has a deep rumble but sounds even better.
- Bugatti says the new hypercar can hit 124 mph (200 km/h) in less than 5 seconds.
The Bugatti Tourbillon didn’t need to exist. With the famed French brand under the ownership of Rimac, it could have easily built an all-electric successor to the Chiron using components from the record-breaking Rimac Nevera. However, Mate Rimac wanted the next Bugatti hypercar to be special, and that’s exactly what the Tourbillon is shaping up to be.
It’s been roughly eight months since the Tourbillon was first shown to the world and in that time, development of the hypercar has continued in earnest. Arguably the highlight of the new Bug is the giant 8.3-liter V16, and Mate Rimac has just provided us with our first chance to hear this engine. Needless to say, it sounds absolutely bonkers.
Read: New Pictures Show $4.6M Bugatti Tourbillon In All Its Glory
This short clip reveals what the hypercar sounds like when revved at a standstill and when under load. Like the W16 found in the Bugatti Veyron and Chiron, the 16 cylinders of the Tourbillon create a fantastic low-end rumble, but unlike the W16, the new Cosworth engine is much more rev-happy and sings at higher revs.
The promised specs of the Tourbillon simply boggle the mind. For starters, the V16 revs all the way to 9,000 rpm, which is virtually unheard of for a road-legal engine this big. All up, the engine delivers 986 hp, just a single horsepower less than the Veyron’s original W16, all without the help of four turbochargers.
Supplementing the 8.3-liter mill is a hybrid system that delivers an extra 789 hp. As a result, the Tourbillon has a combine output of 1,775 hp, and Bugatti says it’ll hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2 seconds, 124 mph (200 km/h) in less than 5 seconds, 186 mph (300 km/h) in under 10 seconds, and run to 248 mph (400 km/h) in less than 25 seconds.
