Bugatti, hybrid quad-turbo V16 instead of W16 for the successor of Chiron and Veyron

The new Bugatti will still have a 16-cylinder engine, but it will no longer be the W16 that powered it from 2003 to today, but instead a hybrid V16, so it is connected to one or more electric motors. Someone makes it clear short video released by the Molsheim manufacturer in which we see the top of a new engine called to replace the one that equipped first the Veyron and then the Chiron.

The latter has entered production in 2016, it sold 500 orders collected last October when the last model left the French Alsace company and headed for Canada to reach the garage of Bilial Hydrie (photo below), a financial and energy entrepreneur of Pakistani origin that two. years ago, writing a check for more than 2 million euros, he had ordered it in black with bronze finishes and the number 16 on the grille with its usual horse shape.

Hydrie’s Chiron indeed it would not be the last Chiron because the various special editions that accompanied the life cycle of the French supercars such as Sport, Pur Sport, Super Sport and Sport 300+ remain without counting “custom made” as such. The famous Voiture Noire produced only two copies. One would go to the famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, whose love for Bugattis is so well known that he would own at least three others: a Veyron, a Chiron and even a rare EB110 (pictured below) produced in Campogalliano (MO) at the time of the brand. it was owned by Romano Artioli.

Another was bought instead and the late Ferdinand Piëch, the man who in 1998 brought the brand founded by Ettore Bugatti under the Volkswagen umbrella and never saw his purchase enter the garage. The “black shark” – as he was nicknamed due to the power he always exercised within the German group, no matter what his role at the time – actually died on 25 August 2019, before the order was implemented. It is said that one of his many heirs (12 children and 4 wives) owns it.

Special Chirons have 100 hp more of the 1,500 who already own the “series” version. Powering them is a powerful 8-liter W16 with four turbochargers placed in the middle in a longitudinal position and connected to a 7-speed clutch gearbox and an all-wheel drive system with an electronically controlled multi-disc central linkage. W16 is the evolution of what, with a power of 1001 hp – but over its life it reached 1,250 – equipment Veyron (photo below), the first Volkswagen Bugatti, capable of exceeding 400 km / h.

It was Ferdinand Piëch himself who wanted it to be this way connecting two V8 4 liters with an angle between the bank of 15 degrees at an angle of 90 degrees for a total of one crankshaft, 4 camshafts, 64 valves and 4 turbochargers placed in parallel, ie each of them to put the service of 4 cylinders . On the Chiron, however, direct injection and a two-stage configuration were chosen, so two pairs of turbos on each side with a small one to ensure readiness at low revs and a large one to pressurize the air at high revs.

The new V16 on the other hand seems to be return to the past, with parallel supercharging and turbocharger for 4 cylinders, two on each side with a good position outside. Therefore, Bugatti does not offer the direction of the “hot-inside” configuration that is now well known, with turbochargers placed between the banks and places the intake “barrels” in the middle on which an unmistakable inscription is printed. In this regard, the new V16 looks very thin and this leads us to believe that it can be created by long connecting two thin V8 banks that it has been designed.

Really, favorite angle historically for the V16, designed mainly for aviation and marine use, it is 45 degrees with a few exceptions such as 25 degrees (although some say 22.5 degrees, half of 45) of the 4 and 4.9 liter V16 Maserati V4 and V5 in the 1930s or degrees 135 of the 7.1 liter V16 Cadillac of the same period – also preceded by a 7.4 liter with a 45 degree bank – or the amazing 1.5 liter made by BRM in the late 40s, capable of reaching 12,000 rpm. The 6-liter V8 of the Cizeta 16T crossover retained the 90-degree angle of the Lamborghini V8 twin that was produced. From what little we can see, the new V16 looks very narrow so the angle could be 45 degrees or even 22.5 degrees like in Maserati.

Other interesting details are the intake ducts in composite materials to reduce weight – the current W16 weighs around 400 kg – and above all the small numbers corresponding to each cylinder that indicate the firing order which, shown in full only by waiting a minute , is 1. -3-11-13-15-9-5-7-14-16-8-2-4-6-10-12. What is certain is that there will not only be pistons to push the successor to the Chiron, but also at least one electric motor, and that the V16 will rev up, as you can hear from the teaser. This suggests, even considering the electrification, that the V16 may have limited displacement.

Rimac, Bugatti’s partner with Porsche, will most likely take care of and distribute the electric part, to achieve a power that will undoubtedly be higher not only of the 1,600 hp of the most powerful Chirons, but also the 1,850 hp of the Bolide Model. In fact, there is competition to face which is now in the order of 2,000 hp and aims at 500 km / h, but in relation to which the French manufacturer stands with the motto “If it is comparable it is no longer Bugatti”. So it is important to go further.

Meanwhile in Molsheim he has already left expansion of equipment and workforce that is expected to grow by 50% by 2027. The new Bugatti with a hybrid engine V16 – which this time will not remain alone in its life cycle – will certainly be shown within the year to complete the first delivery in 2026 and will be the result penciled by Frank Heyl, who took over from Achim Anscheidt after 19 years and who will work with two Bugatti Rimac style centers: one in Berlin and led by Jan Schmid and the other in Zagreb. led by Ignacio Martinez.