The W16 engine has been an intrinsic part of Bugatti hypercars for more than two decades, and with that, the deep, burbling rumble has become a characteristic of the brand. So, when Bugatti decided to build its next-generation hypercar, the Tourbillon, the company wanted to retain that character.
The Bugatti Tourbillon uses a 16-cylinder engine just like its predecessors, albeit in a ‘V’ configuration. Tuning the sound of the new V16 hybrid was a challenge for the engineers, as Bugatti wanted to maintain the “dirty and raw” character.
According to Bugatti, the team worked extensively to refine the acoustic character of the Tourbillon, running thousands of simulations across the exhaust and air-intake systems to find the right balance between performance, refinement and the distinctive rawness of a Bugatti engine.
Bugatti says that the balance between emotion and refinement was one of the central challenges of the Tourbillon’s acoustic development. More importantly, the sound had to be generated mechanically and not faked by channelling it through the onboard speakers.
Bugatti test driver Paolo Magrone said, “As a test driver, it’s very important that I can hear the engine and feel the engine speed increasing in connection with the throttle. It’s very important for me to connect the sound of the engine with what I’m asking from it through the throttle.”
Source: Bugatti
