This Is Why the Bugatti Tourbillon Ditched Turbos for Electric Power
Why is the Bugatti Tourbillon a hybrid? This is the real reason why Bugatti left out turbochargers in its new hypercar.
The anticipated Chiron successor, the Bugatti Tourbillon is finally here, and it’s taken a major departure from its predecessors. While the Veyron and Chiron both relied on Bugatti’s signature W-16 engine with four turbochargers to help achieve their four-figure horsepower, the Tourbillon eschews the snails and the W-configuration. Instead, the Tourbillon relies on a naturally aspirated V-16 augmented with electric power.
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That news probably shocked many of you when it was first revealed, but now with the Tourbillon uncovered, we recommend hearing Bugatti out before you accuse it of sacrilege. It turns out the reason Bugatti did away with turbochargers for the new Tourbillon is simple. It was a matter of saving weight while offering comparable performance.
How Much Weight Is Being Saved?
According to Bugatti via Jalopnik, the W-16 engine from the Chiron weighed in at 961 pounds alone. That’s just over 20 percent of the Chiron’s total weight. The Tourbillon’s V-16 engine weighs just 555 pounds—252 kg—by comparison. Bugatti hasn’t revealed how much the electric motors and 25-kWh battery pack weighs, but it did say that in total the Tourbillon weighs less than the Chiron.
It turns out that not needing four turbochargers along with the oil coolers and air-to-water intercoolers that come with them saves a significant amount of weight. Also consider the engine’s configuration. W engines may be more compact, but they require more metal. The Tourbillon’s V-16 may take up more space but uses less material and is made from lightweight aluminum.
Is Hybrid Power Better Than Turbochargers?
The weight savings is only half of the story. Remember, Bugatti is saying the Tourbillon exceeds the Chiron’s performance. Where the Chiron made a total of 1,479 horsepower from its 8.0-liter W-16, the Tourbillon makes 1,800 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain. A thousand horsepower alone comes from the naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V-16 engine. Which is impressive considering the original Veyron’s engine made 1,001 horsepower with the aid of four turbochargers.
The remaining 800 horsepower comes from the Tourbillon’s electrified powertrain, which consists of a front “e-axle” with two electric motors and a third electric motor at the rear. Since the electric powertrain is needed to maintain the Tourbillon’s top speed, the battery is oil-cooled to maintain optimal temperature for delivering on-demand power.
Turbochargers Have Their Downsides
While turbochargers don’t rely on batteries, they have their own disadvantages. As mentioned earlier, having turbochargers also means having the accompanying components to cool them which not only means more weight but more potential points of failure and moving parts.
There is also the matter of turbo lag. Don’t get us wrong, we doubt that turbo lag was much of an issue in an advanced hypercar like the Chiron, but even if it’s marginal, it does exist. With electric power, max torque and response can be instant. Sure, feeling the kick of boost when turbochargers come to life are one of the great joys of driving, but Bugatti has very specific goals for the Tourbillon, and it’s going to take every advantage to get there.
The Best of Both Worlds
According to Bugatti, opting to go hybrid with the Tourbillon wasn’t an easy decision but one it thought would provide the most versatility in driving experience. Obviously, we won’t know if the Tourbillon hits the mark until we drive it, but we can applaud Bugatti for taking a risk with a car that comes with very high expectations.
“The powertrain was perhaps the most important decision that we had to make, considering every option available to us; reengineering the W16, going fully electric or creating something entirely new,” Bugatti CTO Emilio Scervo said. “Ultimately, we chose the hardest possible option, creating a powertrain from scratch and pairing it seamlessly with a complex system of e-motors, a new-generation eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and more, all developed from the ground up specifically for the Tourbillon. But it was important to us that this car retained that pure and raw analog feel of a naturally aspirated combustion engine, while pairing it with the agility and ability provided by electric motors.”
Clearly there’s a lot riding on the line here for Bugatti after it officially waved goodbye to the Chrion. It’s hard to imagine the Tourbillon falling short of expectations given its pedigree, but Bugatti is taking a big swing with its new powertrain. Once we get behind the wheel, we’ll let you know if the gamble paid off.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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