- Bugatti's Chiron successor will be a hybrid with three electric motors
- The V-16 will be naturally aspirated and drop the quad-turbo setup from the Chirons' W-16 motor
- Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac said the Chiron successor will have an electric-only driving range
Bugatti confirmed earlier this year that its Chiron successor will feature a V-16 hybrid powertrain, but now CEO Mate Rimac is filling in some of the details ahead of the car's debut on June 20.
While the Chiron and Veyron were powered by quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engines, the new V-16 will be naturally aspirated to make it as "emotional" as possible, Rimac said in a recently released video discussing the project. A trio of electric motors will make up for the torque lost by eliminating turbos.
Mate Rimac with Bugatti Chiron successor scale model
One motor will be mounted in the rear of the car, with two in the front, all fed by a 25-kwh battery pack. This will provide the needed power and torque-delivery characteristics, as well as "usable electric range when you need it," according to Rimac.
"The electric powertrain is actually an enabler for such an emotional engine," Rimac said, "because without it we wouldn't have this performance."
Rimac became head of Bugatti under a joint venture that combined the storied automaker with his own company. That left open the possibility that the next Bugatti could simply be a rebodied version of the all-electric Rimac Nevera. Given Rimac's experience with EVs—and lack of experience with combustion engines—that was what some executives in the parent Volkswagen Group would have preferred, Mate Rimac said.
But he thought that would be too easy, and that the Bugatti name demanded something more special, so the company set out to develop this new hybrid powertrain from scratch.