In 2019, Bugatti and popular watchmaker Jacob & Co. formed a partnership to bring their customers new experiences. For the individual brands, the focus had always been craft, mechanical performance, and extreme luxury so it was a match made in heaven, and since then they haven’t disappointed, delivering both sensational hypercars and unrivaled timepieces.
It’s no surprise that this time around, they’ve unveiled what is arguably the greatest hypercar ever produced. This car is called the Bugatti Tourbillon and it’s an icon of two universes. When you think of design, its aesthetics crashes every possible benchmark, and in terms of functionality, they toyed with some barriers.
Plans for the development of the tourbillon started in 2022, and the intention was for it to succeed the Chiron which at the time was one of the most technologically advanced hypercars in the world. We are glad to say that the Tourbillon did this effortlessly.
Even though the looks might be familiar as it is the Bugatti trademark, the Tourbillon brings a lot more to the table. While the older Chiron and Veyron used an 8L W16 quad-turbocharged engine, this new Tourbillon comes fitted with an 8.3L naturally-aspirated V16 engine engineered with the help of Cosworth that gives it the power of a thousand horses. Now it doesn’t end there, because something new happened and it’s that for the first time, Bugatti is offering a hybrid. Along with its engine, the Tourbillon has been gifted 3 electric motors that produce 800hp bringing its total to a mind-blowing 1800hp that allows it to go from 0 – 100km/h in just 2 seconds.
For this car, there are 2 max speeds. While the limited max speed is 380km/h there’s another with the speed key which is capped at 445km/h. The speed key is essentially a physical key that allows you to increase the top speed. The Tourbillon is beauty and functionality or what Nigerians will describe as ‘Talk and Do’.
In all of these, the interior is one part of the tourbillion that is impossible to sideline. From its speedometer, fuel gauge, and tachometer designed to look and function like a big mechanical handmade Swiss watch, to its very unique steering wheel called the fixed hub steering wheel.
What sets it apart is that no matter how you turn the wheel, it doesn’t obscure the instrument cluster.
We should conclude that it is graceful to see Bugatti adopt the hybrid like everyone, and at the same time not lose what makes a Bugatti a Bugatti
