In 2019, Bugatti declared they were done chasing speed records. After pushing through the 300 mph barrier with the Chiron Super Sport 300+, then-president Stephan Winkelmann announced a focus on other areas.
“Our goal was to be the first manufacturer ever to reach the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark. We have now achieved this,” he said at the time. “We have proven several times that we build the fastest cars in the world. In the future, we will focus on other areas.”
Fast forward five years, and Bugatti’s new leader, Mate Rimac, has a different vision. Enter the Bugatti Tourbillon, a hypercar defying expectations with a mind-blowing hybrid powertrain: a colossal 8.3-litre V16 engine bolstered by three electric motors, producing a combined output of a staggering 1,775 hp (1,324 kW).
The Drive asked Mate at the Monterey Car Week if Bugatti was finished with speed.
“It was. It isn’t,” he quips, flashing a coy smile.
Later, Bugatti Rimac’s CTO Emilio Scervo drops a couple more hints.
“Bugatti in the future for me is going to be high speed but not at heavy cost. It has to [have] better aerodynamics, with a lighter car, with the more emotional engine,” Scervo says. “So we’re still going to pursue to move this barrier higher, but keeping this in a way is very Bugatti, very comfortable. It is not like a scary high speed drive, but it’s getting more emotional and more sophisticated in the way it delivers it.”