Nov 27, 2024
It may be nearly two years since the W16 Mistral visited Singapore, but Bugatti has deemed it fit to make another stop here on our sunny island, and this time, it has brought with it the Tourbillon.
The example we see today is but a pre-production model that comes without a working engine, but for the lucky 250 customers who have secured their own examples, the car will come with one special drivetrain indeed.
Sitting within the carbon composite monocoque chassis of the Tourbillon is an 8.3-litre naturally aspirated V16 engine that on its lonesome already manages to produce 986bhp. But as if that wasn't enough, this is still paired with two electric motors so total system output from the vehicle stands at a stratospheric total of 1,775bhp.
Those electric motors are said to be able to spin up to 24,000rpm and make use of an integrated dual silicon-carbide inverter, allowing the electric powertrain of the Tourbillon to count itself as amongst the most power-dense in the world.
But what will truly capture the imagination in the Tourbillon rests within its cabin.
A fixed hub steering wheel is employed here so when the driver turns the steering wheel of the car, its rim rotates but the instrument cluster within stays in place. This design ensures that the driver will always have an unobstructed view of their instrumentation independent of the steering angle.
And it's not hard to see why so much effort has been put to ensure that this cluster is always visible. Bugatti states that it has been designed and built with the expertise of Swiss watchmakers and comprises of a total of 600 parts. These parts are not only made of exotic materials including titanium and gemstones but has also been built to the largest tolerance of 50 microns, with its smallest components at five microns.
And the car has a centre console to match. It's built firstly from anodised aluminium that is milled from a single block of metal. This is then paired with crystal glass that has been specially developed to ensure perfect clarity alongside high strength for safety in an accident. This glass also gives owners the ability to see the intricate workings of the switches and the engine start 'pull' lever that the console hosts.
If all these appeal to you, you'll want to note that the Bugatti Tourbillon comes in at a cool €3.8 million (SGD $5.38 million) before options and any local tariffs and taxes. Not that these will matter, as the firm still only produces left-hand versions of its cars (left-hand drive cars cannot be registered in Singapore), and those 250 examples set to be produced have already been accounted for. Don't be too surprised, however, if you do find one example resting in a climate-controlled storage facility here in Singapore when deliveries eventually start a couple of years from now.
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