Skip to main content

Bugatti’s next hypercar will feature a V16 engine

Bugatti gives a sneak preview of its next-gen hypercar

Bugatti's V16 Engine
Bugatti

Bugatti likes to be at the cutting edge; we saw it with the Veyron, we saw it with the Chiron, and we could be seeing it again with the V-16 hybrid powertrain the French luxury automobile manufacturer will be putting in its next creation. While you may have spotted something like this before, notably powering the W-16 Mistral and Chiron Super Sport, we can assure you haven’t.

The current engine is laid out in a W configuration, so picture two V6 engines stuck together. The motor featured in Bugatti’s next hypercar is in the V configuration. As for what else we know, information is pretty sparse beyond the fact that the new vehicle will be announced in June 2024. Bugatti has also included the words: “Incomparable in every detail, it is a pure embodiment of Bugatti’s DNA, created not just for the present, or even the future – but “Pour l’éternité.” So it’s likely they’ll want you to talk about whatever it is they come out with for a very long time.

Bugatti’s announcement was made eight years to the day after the Chiron made its debut. While details about the next generation of Bugatti’s hypercars is also sparse, it’s safe to say that the new V16 will be sitting in front of (or maybe in the middle of) the manufacturer’s next generation of vehicles. Given the length of an engine with eight cylinders on each side, Bugatti’s new beast will also take up a lot of room — wherever they end up sticking it.

In terms of potential power, information is again non-existent as things stand. As we’re talking about a hybrid engine with 16 cylinders, it will likely pack a punch. Whether that’s on par with the 1,577 horsepower produced by the Chiron Super Sport’s powertrain remains to be seen — but it is worth noting that Bugatti’s numbers tend to go up, not down.

BUGATTI: A New Age — “Pour L’Éternité”

It may power another record-breaker

So far, Bugatti has produced the fastest car on the road no less than three times. The Veyron took the crown in 2005, the Veyron Super Sport reclaimed it in 2010, and the Chiron Super Sport is the current record holder in many people’s estimations. That may change soon, as Hennessey’s Venom F5 aims to rip past the 305 mph mark this year, becoming the world’s fastest production car. A Bugatti showing up to retake that title almost immediately afterward would not be the strangest thing that’s ever happened.

John Hennessey, the hypercar maker’s founder, namesake, and CEO, isn’t too worried. He seems to welcome the challenge from the French automaker, stating: “I hope that Bugatti joins the party too – it’s rivalries like this that fuel our passion and drive us to go faster, innovate more, and push harder.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dave McQuilling
Dave has spent pretty much his entire career as a journalist; this has included jobs at newspapers, TV stations, on the…
Ford plays it all ways, focusing on EVs, hybrids, and gas engines
Ford covers every position in the race to profitable EVs
2024 Ford F-150 R airborne as it comes up a desert sand hill.

In a quarterly earnings call with investors on February 6, 2024, Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley outlined Ford's plans for EVs, hybrids, and vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs). The TLDR version: Ford's going to keep pushing all three.

What Ford and other automakers may have seen as a straight transition path to widespread vehicle electrification has more curves, turns, and roundabouts than initially anticipated. Multiple factors are in play with EV adoption, from harder-to-get EV tax credits and unexpected cold weather and climate change effects on EVs to changes in EV development and investment strategies by global vehicle brands.

Read more
MINI debuts 5th generation 3-door MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S with gas engines
Gas-powered Mini Coopers live on
2025 Mini Cooper S left front three-quarter view studio shot with shadows.

When Mini launched the 2025 Mini Countryman Electric battery-electric vehicle (BEV) via the Sphere in Las Vegas last year, the easy reaction could have been, "Well, that's it for Mini and ICEs." But Mini just proved that response wrong. BMW Group's Mini brand recently announced the fifth generation Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S gas-powered fun-mobiles for the global market.

Why gas-powered Mini Coopers matter
The Mini Cooper's appeal to auto enthusiasts has endured since the original models debuted in 1961. Small, cute, economical, easy to park, and fun to drive, the Mini Cooper has become larger and more potent in the last 63 years. Mini EV models have captured the most recent headlines, but the revered auto brand will not abandon its heritage.
The new generation Mini Cooper C and Mini Cooper S 3-door gas-powered cars combine the Mini's classic, minimalist design features, updated digital assistance and convenience features, and the Mini's go-cart-like driving experience.

Read more
This tiny caravan uses one smart feature to almost double its space when parked
One of the smallest travel trailers on the market sleeps four thanks to a one-of-a-kind "trap door"
Sportcaravan Cube 1 Microcarvan Travel Trailer isolated on a studio background.

Ultra-compact, lightweight, and as minimal as it gets, tiny teardrop trailers are the purest expression of RV camping. They're a clear step up from sleeping in a ground tent (or even a rooftop tent), but they're designed to strip away all the flash and luxury of today's fanciest motorhomes. That design ethos got Germany's Sportcaravan thinking about how to make its already pint-sized Cube "caravan" trailers smaller and bigger simultaneously. Enter the Cube 1.

The full details on Sportcaravan's "mega micro" travel trailer
The newest entry into Sportcaravan's Cube line-up is also the smallest. The Cube 1 is tiny, even by teardrop trailer standards. By the numbers, it weighs just 700 pounds — light enough to be towed by almost anything with a hitch, from Subaru Outbacks to Honda CR-Vs to Toyota RAV4s. The shell measures just 10.5 feet from tip to tail and stands less than 5.5 feet tall when collapsed down. For reference, that's less than two feet longer and four inches taller than a Smart Fortwo, making it more than capable of fitting in any standard garage or even in a parking garage space.

Read more