Every Bugatti built in the past 20 years has had a few things in common: they’ve all been eye-wateringly expensive, mind-bogglingly fast, and powered by a massive W16 engine at the rear. Now, as the company prepares its successor to the Chiron, Bugatti has confirmed that the W16 is no more. Instead, the new car will be powered by a hybrid V8. It truly is the end of an era.
Bugatti is set to reveal the successor to the record-breaking Chiron hypercar in 2024, ahead of its launch in 2026. When the car breaks cover, it will be the first model developed under Bugatti’s new ownership of Croatian EV maker Rimac.
Ever since the French firm was placed under Rimac’s control, boss Mate Rimac has been teasing details about the future powertrain options for Bugatti. Obviously, in today’s world, that had to include some kind of hybrid power at a minimum, with many hoping that it would signal a pivot to electricity for the world’s fastest carmaker.
But now, in an interview with British outlet Autocar, Bugatti has confirmed that the Chiron replacement will, in fact, be powered by a new a hybrid-assisted V8 powertrain, marking the end of the road for the W16 that premiered in the Veyron almost 20 years ago. Autocar reports:
“The upcoming hypercar will sit on a new chassis and is expected to be leaner than the Bugatti Mistral roadster, due to the smaller, V8 powerplant.
“It will also have its constraints because of performance and performance needs,” said [Achim] Anscheidt [design director at Bugatti]. “But we know every centimeter of our cars so well by now that we know exactly where [change] would help us and where it would create a problem.”
“Bugatti is being very tight-lipped about its new model, revealing nothing about the design bar the electrified nature of the powertrain.”
The latest tease from Bugatti about the new car follows a long line of nuggets left by the brand about its future. Since announcing that a new car was on the horizon, Bugatti has only shared a few details about its next model, including telling YouTuber Nico Rosberg that the new car would be “the opposite of what you expect.”
As well as signaling a change in direction for Bugatti on the engine front, the new car will also be the last Bugatti model penned by Anscheidt, who today announced he was stepping down as design director at the French firm. After 19 years at the company, Anscheidt will hand over the reins of Bugatti’s design department to Frank Heyl, who served as Anscheidt’s deputy and was the brains behind Bugatti’s Super Sport series.