Car-inspired watch? Tired. Watch-inspired car? Wired. Guided by the words of Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti himself, Mate Rimac has ushered in the newest chapter of the French marque’s story with the Bugatti Tourbillon. “Nothing is too beautiful,” the marque’s founder once said. However, the Bugatti Tourbillon comes pretty damn close.
In a time when most marques are embracing electrification, the Bugatti Tourbillon makes a staunch statement set to appeal to devout petrolheads while incorporating contemporary engineering. Powered by an 8.3-litre naturally aspirated V16 engine paired with three e-motors, two on the front axle and one at the rear. The Bugatti Tourbillon produces a total output of 1800 hp; 1000 hp from the internal combustion engine and 800 hp from the trio of electric motors.
Naturally, this is accompanied by some impressive performance stats. Bugatti claims the Tourbillon can change from 0 to 100km/h in a stomach-lurching 2 seconds and do 0 to 200km/h in just 5 seconds. The maximum speed is limited to 380km/h, however the provision of a special ‘speed key’ removes this limit and takes the top speed to 445km/h.
As the Bugatti Tourbillon is the first Bugatti in over two decades not powered by the marque’s signature W16 engine, it also eschews naming convention (i.e. naming new models after legendary Bugatti drivers). Watch heads will recognise the word ‘tourbillon’, with the French subtly referencing the marque’s French heritage and home in Molsheim. Designed to improve accuracy in pocket watches, the tourbillon is a regulatory mechanism invented by Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet in 1795 and patented in 1801. Over two centuries later, it remains an invention without comparison; a distinction Bugatti hopes to achieve with its Tourbillon.
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In a bid to achieve similar mechanical timelessness, the Bugatti Tourbillon forgoes digital screens in favour of an analogue instrument cluster, crafted by Swiss watchmakers and finished with the same level of detail and finesse you’d find in a haute horlogerie timepiece. Seriously; the Bugatti Tourbillon is almost worth it for the steering wheel alone.
The undeniable star of the show, the instrument cluster is composed of over 600 components and constructed from titanium and gemstones like sapphires and rubies. The sketetonised cluster is fixed in place, with the steering wheel adopting a fixed hub setup and rotating around it. The driver display and centre console are crafted from glass and aluminium, with the engine ignited by a push/pull lever. It isn’t all analogue though; there’s Bluetooth connectivity and a pop-up digital screen for reversing and displaying information on the centre console dashboard, however this can be hidden.
“Icons like the Type 57SC Atlantic, renowned as the most beautiful car in the world, the Type 35, the most successful racing car ever, and the Type 41 Royale, one of the most ambitious luxury cars of all time, provide our three pillars of inspiration,” said Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac. “Beauty, performance, and luxury formed the blueprint for the Tourbillon; a car that was more elegant, more emotive and more luxurious than anything before it. Quite simply, incomparable. And just like those icons of the past, it wouldn’t be simply for the present, or even for the future, but Pour l’éternité – for eternity.”
Indeed, the Bugatti Tourbillon is unlike anything before it. Like other contemporary Bugatti models, it exudes speed even at a standstill. Sitting low and wide, each surface has been finely sculpted with aerodynamics and thermodynamics in mind. The signature horseshoe design remains, acting as the central point from which all the lines of the vehicle stem from and shaping the central fuselage volume. The striking dihedral doors are operable using the key fob, making for a dramatic sense of arrival at any destination.
The Bugatti Tourbillon is (naturally) limited to 250 examples, with a price point of around USD$4.1 million (approx. AUD$6 million).
Words by John Deckard
