New Bugatti Tourbillon revealed: 277mph Chiron replacement is an engineering marvel

• New Bugatti Tourbillon revealed
• Replacement for the Chiron
• Stunning new design
• 1,800hp from hybrid V16 engine
• 277mph top speed
• Incredible levels of engineering
• On sale next year from £3.2m

The Bugatti Chiron’s replacement is finally here, and it’s called the Tourbillon. In case you’re wondering, a Tourbillon is a component used in high-end watches to improve accuracy, and the reason for that name will become clear later on.

First, some headline figures. The V16 engine is paired with three electric motors to make 1,800hp and 2,300Nm of torque, allowing for a top speed of 277mph. The Tourbillon will go on sale next year, with an eye-watering price tag of over £3.2 million.

New Bugatti Tourbillon design and aero

Let’s kick off by talking about the design, and there’s a lot to discuss. The Tourbillon is a stunning-looking thing, and it’s not a case of form over function either.

This is a brand-new car from the ground-up with no hint of Chiron remaining, although it does retain some of Bugatti’s iconic design cues such as the horseshoe grille, centre line and the two-tone C-shape in the rear quarter.

Some very clever engineering has allowed Bugatti to make some significant changes over the Chiron though. That car’s gearbox was mounted between the driver and passenger, pushing them apart and making the cabin wider. The Tourbillon on the other hand has the gearbox mounted behind the engine, meaning the cabin can be pushed inwards allowing for a more muscular front wing design.

That clever packaging also allows the front end to be lower, which improves airflow over the car – and we’re not done with airflow yet. Because of the short front overhang, and the need to pack the crash protection, two electric motors and the radiators for the engine in the nose, air is channelled through the grille, around the front cargo area through a pair of radiators and out of the two vents at the top of the bonnet.

You also have “flying fenders” which guide air under the headlights, around the sides of the car and into the C-shaped vents at the back. The contouring down the side also gives the illusion that this car is wider than the Chiron.

Moving to the rear, you can’t ignore that massive diffuser. Of course it’s functional, it actually acts as the rear crash structure because there’s no room behind the engine and gearbox for a traditional steel beam, and it goes back as far as the driver’s seat. To make sure it works as efficiently as possible, the whole car is actually designed around it. It needs to sit at an angle of 11 degrees, so the engine is tilted to accommodate this.

The elegant rear light bar has the Bugatti script illuminated in the centre, and you still have the massive active rear wing. That spine which runs down the middle of the engine compartment also acts as the third brake light. Everything on this car is beautiful to behold while still providing a function.

New Bugatti Tourbillon engine and hybrid system

Now for the centrepiece of the new Tourbillon, its V16 engine. It’s 40cm longer than the Chiron’s W16, which was a real headache for the engineers who had to shoehorn it in without making the car any longer. In the end this car ended up gaining 27mm over the Chiron.

That engine is also naturally-aspirated, something which is unheard of in Bugattis of recent years. Both the Veyron and the Chiron were quad-turbocharged, but the Tourbillon uses three electric motors to boost power.

The engine alone puts out 1,000hp, the same as the old Veyron, and the three electric motors make an extra 800hp on top. All together, this new Bugatti has 1,800hp and a colossal 2,300Nm of torque.

There are three electric motors – one which is in the gearbox to boost the engine and two which drive the front wheels. It’s a bit like the system used in the Lamborghini Revuelto. The 25kWh battery also provides you with up to 44 miles of EV-only range.

New Bugatti Tourbillon performance

So then, what does all this power translate into? Well the Tourbillon will do 0-62mph in under 2.0 seconds, slightly quicker than the Chiron.

But it’s probably top speed that you’re really bothered about. Well this new car will crack 277mph given enough space, 16mph more than the original Chiron. You can bet that there will be even faster versions in the future as well, after all the Chiron Supersport 300+ will do 304mph making it one of the fastest cars in the world.

New Bugatti Tourbillon chassis and suspension

You’d think that adding a hybrid battery and three electric motors would make the Tourbillon heavier than the car it replaces, but Bugatti is actually on track to make this car weigh less than the 1,995kg Chiron. But how?

Well, one of the ways the engineers have shed a few pounds is by 3D printing the suspension with help from AI. What they’ve done is fed a bunch of data into a computer, such as the forces a suspension component needs to withstand and the space it needs to fit into, and artificial intelligence will carve out the perfect shape.

What you’re left with is something which resembles a human bone more than a car’s suspension arm, but it’s perfectly crafted so there’s not a scrap of excess metal. Every hole in this part is cut out to save weight because the computer deemed that bit of metal structurally unnecessary, and it’s really anal stuff like this which keeps the weight down.

New Bugatti Tourbillon interior

Almost two tonnes is still pretty heavy for a hypercar – something like a Ferrari SF90 is a good 500kg lighter – but the Tourbillon isn’t some stripped-out track car. The level of luxury and attention to detail inside is unmatched by anything outside of a Pagani Huayra.

There is no plastic to be found in this interior, everything is either leather, carbon fibre or metal. The “spine” in the centre console which houses the control knobs is also made of crystal glass so you can see the inner workings, which is where the high-end watch theme comes in.

There are absolutely no visible screens in this car, something which is very rare in today’s world of 20-inch displays. There’s just a small screen which pops out of the dashboard for your phone mirroring and the legally-mandated reversing camera, but you can put this away for a complete digital detox.

Bugatti is thinking ahead here. Cars like the Tourbillon will be preserved by collectors to show off at Pebble Beach decades into the future, and filling the car with screens which look modern now will look horribly dated in 10 year’s time. Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac actually said that every piece of the interior should be a work of art that you could hang on the wall, something which is best shown by the dials.

In front of the driver isn’t a digital instrument cluster, it’s actually a mechanical set of gauges with a watch-style set of cogs which you can see turning as the revs climb. The face of the dials even look like that of a watch, it’s a stunning thing to behold.

This is framed by a gorgeous steering wheel which actually rotates around the dials. The clocks and the centre boss stay still and the rim of the steering wheel turns around them, a concept we haven’t seen since the Citroen C4 of the mid 2000s. Bet you didn’t see that comparison coming.

New Bugatti Tourbillon price and release date

Bugatti is still putting some finishing touches on the Tourbillon, so you won’t be able to order one until next year with deliveries starting in 2026.

All this engineering and attention to detail doesn’t come cheap either, because prices will start at over £3.2 million. Still, when you count for inflation that makes it around the same as the Chiron’s asking price when it was launched.

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