With the iconic W16 engine now discontinued, we all thought Bugatti would be… well, we thought they’d jump head in into electrification following its merger with Rimac, and lose all of its soul while at it. Thankfully, that scenario will (fortunately) remain as just a figment of our imagination, as the historic French brand has now confirmed that its next supercar hypercar will be powered by a mammoth V16 engine.
Set to be revealed in June this year, the yet-unnamed Bugatti model will swap the W16 engine found in the Veyron and Chiron, to an all-new and equally-as-impressive 16-cylinder mill but in a different shape, making it the first series production vehicle to use such a V16 engine basically since the World War II.
Bugatti has not revealed any details on the upcoming model and its V16 powertrain just yet, although they did release a short clip on YouTube (above) giving us a short taste of how it’ll sound like – and as you’d expect, it’s just all sorts of magnificent. I guess when Mate Rimac said they’re building “something crazy”, he really did mean it.
Based on teaser photos published by Rimac himself on Facebook, it appears that the upcoming V16 engine is essentially two 90-degree V8s glued together lengthwise. Investigative work done by Jason Fenske on the Engineering Explained YouTube channel also suggests that it’ll be naturally aspirated, rather than forced induction like the quad turbochargers on the Chiron’s W16.
Even then, the engine is already rumoured to boast an output of over 1,000 hp. The kicker here, though, is that in addition to the V16 engine, the upcoming Bugatti hypercar will also be complemented by at least one electric motor for a hybrid setup, which should bring the car’s total output over the 1,600 hp high-water mark set by the Chiron Super Sport.
Bugatti says in the release that the all-new V16 hybrid engine is designed “Pour L’Éternité”, which means we’ll definitely be seeing it in some form or another for the foreseeable future, or “for eternity” if the company is to be believed. No matter what, though, we’re just glad that Bugatti is staying true to its roots, even in the face of electrification.
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