Bugatti is ready to evolve but at its own pace.
We already knew that the French marque planned to retire its trademark W16 engine with the Chiron. Now, it has finally been confirmed, via a YouTube video posted on Thursday, what kind of mill will replace it—a V-16.
Bugatti’s famed 16-cylinder is the first W-configuration engine used in a passenger vehicle. It’s also been a fixture of the two hypercars, and their many variants, that the company has built since it was reborn as a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 1998. The world isn’t the same place it was 26 years ago, and with the company’s second modern model, the Chiron, winding down production, it was time for a change.
Despite this, Bugatti remains wed to 16 cylinders. Now they’ll just be arranged in two blocks of eight as opposed to three blocks of six. The new mill also promises to be massive. Bugatti hasn’t revealed its capacity yet, but the Cosworth-developed mill will reportedly have a displacement of 8.3 liters, according to Motor1.com. Thursday’s video, which highlights the sound of the engine working through its first three gears, also makes clear that it will deliver the kind of roar that hypercar drivers expect.
Shape isn’t the only thing that’s changing, though. The V-16 will also be just one part of Bugatti’s first hybrid powertrain. The automaker may not be ready to go all-electric yet—despite now being overseen by Rimac founder Mate Rimac—but it is embracing electrification. The new setup, which will feature at least one additional electric motor, is expected to at least be as powerful as the Chiron’s W16, which produces a maximum of 1,578 hp.
Bugatti is currently finishing up production of the Chiron
Bugatti
Of course, Bugatti isn’t ready to say just how powerful the electrified powertrain will be just yet. That’s no surprise since the company still announced what the vehicle will even be called. That hasn’t stopped the company from talking the upcoming model up, though.
“Incomparable in every detail, it is a pure embodiment of Bugatti’s DNA, created not just for the present, or even the future – but [‘for eternity’],” the brand said in a statement accompanying the video.
Will the next Bugatti be able to live up to these sky-high expectations? We shouldn’t have to wait too long to find out. The company has announced it will pull the curtain back on its next hypercar in June.
