The Bugatti Tourbillon's Chassis Is a Work of Art

Bugatti developed a new chassis for the Tourbillon hypercar. Changing regulations and a new hybrid drivetrain meant the French automaker couldn't reuse the platform that underpinned both the Veyron and Chiron. The results are extraordinary, as seen in photos and video Bugatti just released.

To say that the engineers had a challenge packaging everything would be an understatement. The brief for the Tourbillon was a car not much larger than the Chiron, but with a V-16 engine paired with an electric motor and dual-clutch transmission, a twin-motor front axle, and batteries to run the whole thing. The V-16 is longer than Bugatti's old W-16 engine, and all the electric stuff takes up a ton of room too.

Bugatti moved the V-16 closer to the rear bulkhead, with fuel tanks on either side of it; the batteries are configured in a "T" shape behind the seats and in the central tunnel; the seats are moved closer together and fixed in place to reduce frontal area; the pedals and wheel come back towards the driver; the front electric motor sits just behind the (small) luggage compartment. In spite of all this, the wheelbase of the Tourbillon is just over an inch longer than the Chiron's, and the roofline is even lower.

An important innovation to keep size in check is a carbon-fiber diffuser that doubles as a rear crash structure, eliminating the need for a separate beam. There are other amazing details. The Tourbillion has eight radiators, and it uses "skeletonized" 3D-printed wishbones from Divergent, the company behind the Czinger 21C. 

There's so much cool stuff here, just like the rest of the Tourbillon.