The Bugatti Tourbillon is chockful of clever engineering, particularly when it comes to how different parts of the car interact with each other. One of the best examples of this is how the car’s hybrid V16 let engineers make some huge aerodynamic improvements over the Chiron. Basically, the new powertrain opened up plenty more room to play with the diffuser and other aspects of the vehicle, but some of the changes are even more clever than that.
The Engine Is Totally Tilted
One of the big changes for the Tourbillon is the expansion of the diffuser and its associated venturi tunnels. Bugatti says that the diffuser on the Tourbillon is twice as long as that on the Chiron, with it starting roughly where the passenger compartment is, and rising gradually all the way to the rear bumper cover. As CEO Mate Rimac explains in a video about the car’s packaging and aerodynamics (shown below), going to the naturally aspirated V16 over the quadruple-turbocharged W16 opened up lots of space on either side of the engine to expand the venturi tunnels. And in an extra bid to gain more space, the engine itself is slightly tilted. We reached out to Bugatti for more specifics, but we assume that the engine is tilted forward slightly to get more clearance at the rear where the venturis are taller. We’ll update if we get a reply.
On the subject of the diffuser, the venturis are so big that the rear lower control arms actually sit in the path of the air, and they’ve been shaped to be aerodynamic. Plus, the diffuser itself is structural, taking the place of a conventional rear crash beam, which also contributed to making the huge tunnels.
That’s only the start of how the new powertrain affects the shape and aerodynamics of the car. On the Chiron, the front wheels had to get power from the engine. This had a couple of effects that weren’t ideal for packaging. The transmission ended up between the engine and the passenger compartment, and a driveshaft had to be run forward up to a differential to power those front wheels. The Tourbillon ditches all of that, which meant the transmission could be placed at the back and the engine moved up close to the passenger compartment. A pair of motors drive the front wheels, so no driveshaft was necessary to run from the engine. There are batteries that sit in the middle, but they’re easier to package since they don’t have to have a relatively straight shot from the engine to the front axle. They can even be set low in the car. Those front motors can also be oriented low in the nose, and even slightly ahead of the front axle for a low nose and adequate interior space. The end result is a car with significantly less frontal area, aerodynamically speaking, than the Chiron.
Related
Meet The Bugatti Tourbillon: V16 Masterpiece Redefines The Hypercar
Molsheim has mastered the hypercar once again, creating a piece of incomparable automotive art that would make Ettore Bugatti proud.
The Car Has So Many More Amazing Features
There’s no end to the remarkable aspects of the Tourbillon. It makes 1,775 combined horsepower, and 1,000 of those ponies come from the V16 alone, which, as we mentioned, doesn’t have the help of turbos like its predecessors. It even manages to rev to 9,000 rpm. That’s all before getting to the trio of electric motors, two at the front and one at the rear to make up the other roughly 775 hp. Bugatti also expects the car to hit 276 mph. Inside, it has a gauge cluster built like a watch with sapphire crystal and ruby bearings. The attention to detail really does extend to every corner of the car, which is important when commanding a price of more than $4 million.
#Bugatti #Tourbillons #Engine #Layout #Helps #Aerodynamics
