Bugatti will launch its next hypercar, which will be powered by a 1000bhp hybridised naturally aspirated V16, on 20 June.
Announcing the date, the brand said its next-generation model will sport a “completely bespoke” design inspired by the iconic Type 57 SC Atlantic, Type 41 Royale and Type 35 models.
They “each lend their DNA to create a pure and authentic reinterpretation of the Bugatti brand”, it teased.
Last week, the French hypercar maker brought its eight-year Chiron era to an end with the Super Sport L’Ultime, a special one-off. That final model also marks the end of the French brand’s famed W16 engine.
Bugatti recently revealed the shape and layout of that engine, as well as its screaming soundtrack (below), and CEO Mate Rimac gave extra details in an interview at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London.
While keeping most cards close to his chest, Rimac revealed that the colossal engine goes without forced induction, unlike its W16 predecessor, which inhaled through four turbochargers.
The engine itself, he added, will measure a whopping one-metre long in its own right – 400mm longer than the four-bank unit from the Chiron.
Not just for the present. ⁰Or even for the future.Pour l‘éternité.Embark on BUGATTI’s new era.20.06.2024#BUGATTI #PourLÉternité pic.twitter.com/5ADVgGIP3v
— Bugatti (@Bugatti) June 4, 2024
Despite that, though (and the integration of a substantial electric drivetrain element), the car will be a similar shape to its predecessor, Rimac suggested. He said: “The exterior is an evolution. You can still see the very distinct Bugatti design.”
Certainly, spy shots circulating the internet in recent weeks indicate that it will have a familiar silhouette, but be somewhat lower and sleeker than the Chiron it replaces.
Rimac, despite being best known for his pioneering work creating electric hypercars and supplying battery tech to a number of global car manufacturers, said he was a driving force behind bringing the V16 to fruition.
Before his eponymous firm took over Bugatti from the Volkswagen Group, he said: “The business plan was to make an electric coupé-SUV type of thing.”
“Management was saying the next car has to be electric,” he added, acknowledging that a rebadged and restyled version of the Rimac Nevera would have theoretically made a logical electric replacement for the Chiron. But maintaining differentiation between the two hypercar brands, while honouring the heritage of Bugatti, was essential.