Today is the day we finally get to see what Bugatti’s been cooking up for its successor to the Chiron. While the launch of a new multi-million dollar hypercar for the uber-rich might seem trivial for most of us, it’s actually a pretty big deal. This marks only the third new Bugatti since the brand was revived under the Volkswagen Group, starting with the Veyron back in 2005. Even the Chiron, which still seems fresh, is almost a decade old, having debuted in 2016.
Today also marks the beginning of a new era for Bugatti. This is the brand’s first launch under the supervision of CEO Mate Rimac, who also owns his namesake electric hypercar company. It will be interesting to see how much of Rimac’s performance EV knowhow makes it into the new Bug.
Speaking of performance, the new Bugatti—whose name will be revealed later today—will have an entirely new engine layout for the first time since the Veyron. Since the brand returned in 2005, Bugatti has exclusively used quad-turbocharged W16 engines. Now, though, it’s switching to an all-new naturally aspirated V16 with hybrid assistance.
Bugatti teased its new powertrain a few times already, showing off its valve cover, firing order, and even its exhaust sound. In the latest teaser, we see a gorgeous Swiss watch-like gauge cluster with a skeletonized clock-face acting like both a speedometer and tachometer. While this seems to just be teasing a countdown to the car’s reveal, if the actual gauge cluster looks anything like that, it will be stunning. Also, it seems that the speedo goes over 500 km/h. Is Bugatti hinting at challenging Koenigsegg for the 310 mph-plus speed record? We can hear it rev in the short clip, shift gears, and even calm back down, and it all sounds glorious.
The livestream reveal of this new hybrid V16 Bugatti begins at 4:00 p.m. EST and can be seen at the video embed above, or the link here.
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