For US$4 million, you can own this timeless masterpiece crafted with the attention to detail of a hundred-year-old Swiss watch. Its stationary and entirely analog gauge cluster centered in the steering wheel is comprised of over 600 individual pieces of titanium, billet aluminum, crystal glass, rubies and sapphires, oozing very much with Breguet-like affluence.
So as not to disrupt the Tourbillon's bespoke interior, hidden in the center console is a high-definition screen that can be deployed on-demand in either portrait or landscape mode, displaying the vehicle's data or the reverse camera.
"If you see a piece of what you think is titanium, then that’s what it is," said Bugatti president, Christophe Piochon. "It is clear from looking at any of Ettore Bugatti’s creations that every component – even if it is never seen – is a work of art, and that was our intention with Tourbillon, too."
No expense is spared in the Tourbillon, which translates to "whirlwind" – which has nothing to do with a breeze at all. A tourbillon is a gravity-defeating device inside of an extremely high-end mechanical watch that improves time-keeping accuracy as it rotates, ticking the second hand. It is symbolic as the absolute highest degree of craftsmanship and quality in watch-making. Very few watch manufacturers are capable of producing this acutely complex and expensive type of timepiece.
Bugatti has long applied this level of craftsmanship to its cars.
Ettore Bugatti once said, "Nothing is too beautiful."
Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti took this cue when developing the Tourbillon. It's intended to be unlike anything before. The Tourbillion "... wouldn’t be simply for the present, or even for the future, but pour l’éternité – for eternity," Rimac went on to say.
Since Bugatti's acquisition from VW by the Rimac Group, many speculated an EV version of the Bugatti was in the offing, considering Rimac's history of EVs. In Bugatti's previous two hypercar ventures, the stapled W16, four turbo arrangement has been beating heart, propelling the Veyron and Chiron to never-before-seen speeds in production vehicles. Bugatti contemplated reengineering the W16 or even going fully electric before taking the hardest route and developing an entirely new hybrid system and chassis from the ground up.
The Tourbillon deviated from its turbo'd W16 tradition with an all-new 8.3-liter, naturally aspirated V16 power plant making 1,000 hp (745 kW). It has been paired with a dual front axle and a single rear axle electric motor, making a combined 800 hp (596 kW). The electric motors are powered by a relatively small 25-kWh, oil-cooled battery pack at 800 volts. In all-electric mode, the Tourbillon has a range of 37 miles (60 km).
All of this incredible technology and engineering of mostly composite materials makes the Tourbillon lighter than its predecessor, the Chiron, even with its V16 engine weighing 555.5 lb (252 kg).
"So yes, it is crazy to build a new V16 engine, to integrate with a new battery pack and electric motors and to have a real Swiss-made watchmaker instrument cluster and 3D-printed suspension parts and a Crystal Glass center console. But it is what Ettore would have done, and it is what makes a Bugatti incomparable and timeless," Mate Rimac said in Bugatti's press release.
Bugatti is now in the testing phase, with prototypes already on the road. Customer deliveries are slated to begin in 2026. Most of the 250 four-million-dollar production cars – which will be made by hand – are already spoken for.
Source: Bugatti
