Bugatti’s next hypercar will use a mammoth V16 engine, the company has confirmed.
Announcing that the new hypercar will be revealed in full in June, Bugatti has revealed that it will swap from the W16 engine used by the Chiron and its Veyron predecessor to an all-new unit of a different shape.
It will be the first production car in decades to use such an engine, the last having been the ultra-rare Cizeta-Moroder V16T in 1991.
Bugatti has not given any more details about the engine, such as its capacity or whether it has been developed in-house, but it has revealed a preview video that gives a first taste of the noise it will make – which you can watch below.
The V16 will form part of Bugatti’s first hybrid powertrain, which the firm describes as “incomparable in every detail, it is a pure embodiment of Bugatti’s DNA, created not just for the present, or even the future – but ‘Pour l’éternité'” – for eternity.
Previously, it was thought that Bugatti would downsize its engine in light of the potential electric power boost provided by a hybrid drivetrain, and the need to accommodate a battery and electric motors, but clearly the firm has found a means to stay true its 16-cylinder lineage as it embraces electrification.
The firm had already told Autocar that the new powertrain would be “unlike anything else on sale” but had stopped short of revealing any technical details.
The design of the car itself was signed off early last year, with designer Achim Anscheidt – who stepped down as Bugatti’s design chief recently – telling Autocar that it will “bring forward” Bugatti into a new era while retaining signature cues such as the horseshoe grille and crescent-shaped belt line.
His replacement, Frank Heyl, promised the new car will be “even more amazing” than the Chiron. “It’s going to be amazing, proportionally, technologically, in terms of innovation, in terms of unexpectedness. It’s going to blow people out of the water completely, and it’s a true joy to work on this.”
No doubt the colossal engine, combined with an electric drive element, will provide the car with comparable grunt to the 1487bhp Chiron, which can do 0-62mph in 2.5sec and tops out at 261mph even in its standard form.
It is not yet confirmed whether the hybrid drivetrain will allow for engine-off running, or whether the two propulsion systems will work in tandem for maximum power output.