The rumors were true – Bugatti is putting a V16 engine inside its next hypercar. The Chiron replacement is set to break cover in June. To ease the wait, the peeps from Molsheim have released a video with the sound of the carbon fiber-bathed engine. As previously hinted by company officials, the combustion engine will be part of a hybrid powertrain.
Bugatti isn’t willing to provide additional details for the time being. Previous reports hinted that the new engine has been developed by Cosworth with a massive 8.3-liter displacement. It might even be naturally aspirated, which wouldn’t come as a shock since the video does hint at a high-revving engine.
Some say it revs to a screaming 9,000 rpm and works with three electric motors to deliver a combined output of 1,800 horsepower. However, the only confirmed fact is that the powertrain is a hybrid V16, so take these other details with a heavy dose of salt. More official info should be disclosed in the months leading up to the big debut in June.
It’s worth noting Bugatti toyed around with the idea of an even crazier engine many moons ago. Back in September 1999, the 18/3 Chiron roared into the Frankfurt Motor Show with a colossal 6.3-liter W18 that was also used in the 1999 EB 218 sedan.
It won’t be the first production car to use a V16 engine since that honor goes to the Cadillac V-16 from 1930. The American luxury brand revisited the idea in 2003 with the Sixteen concept. A year later, the Rolls-Royce 100EX concept also rocked a V16. The Devel Sixteen also promised a V16 but that car is still missing in action. Lest we forget there were prototypes of a BMW 7 Series Goldfisch and a Bentley Mulsanne with a V16. Perhaps the best-known car to have a V16 was the 1991 Cizeta-Moroder V16T.
Beyond the engine, the French hypercar is expected to be an all-new model rather than an evolution of the Veyron and Chiron. It’s going to be the last model penned by Bugatti Director of Design Achim Anscheidt. Future models that will arrive after the Chiron’s successor are going to be designed by a team led by Frank Heyl.
Although we’re only a few months away from the world premiere, wealthy customers eager to get behind the wheel are in for a long wait. Production and deliveries are not going to start until 2026 because Bugatti has its plate full with the Mistral roadster and the track-only Bolide. These are the last two cars with a W16 engine but that doesn’t mean the upcoming model has been bitten by the downsizing bug. The sixteen cylinders will be rearranged for a car that promises to be “incomparable in every detail.”
The follow-up to the Veyron and Chiron is touted as being “a pure embodiment of Bugatti’s DNA, created not just for the present, or even the future – but pour l’éternité (for eternity).”
