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Back in 2015, Bugatti tragically cancelled its beautiful front-engined homage to the Type 57 SC Atlantic––being under the ownership of Volkswagen Group at the time, it had to avoid imposing big costs on its parent company as the events of the Dieselgate scandal unfolded. Fortunately, the mid-engined, W16-powered Chiron we know today made it to public roads, but it spent its entire production life by itself. However, its new Tourbillon successor, which has come hot off the press with a groundbreaking hybrid-assisted V16 engine, may not end up alone.
Frank Heyl, the recently-appointed head of design at Bugatti, recently spoke to Autocar about the possibility of a new front-engined model, this time with that monstrous 1,800-horsepower V16 engine under the hood. Just like the concept that unfortunately fell victim to Dieselgate roughly a decade ago, this one would take inspiration from the legendary Type 57 SC Atlantic.
"Certainly," said Heyl regarding the prospect of fitting the V16 into a second Bugatti model. "I mean, look at the Type 57 SC Atlantic: it’s front-engined. So maybe later, but for now we are super-happy that we went this way."
While Bugatti's modern-day hypercars have always had a grand tourer element to them, a front-engined model that doesn't focus on chasing performance numbers would be a refreshing departure from what the company currently builds. "Bugatti has not always just been sports cars," Heyl noted.
A new front-engined Bugatti would more than likely be the result of further expansion of the automaker's Sur Mesure bespoke division. While the firm's recent projects were nothing more than rebodied Chirons, it could eventually move on to produce entirely unique vehicles, solely for the purpose of churning out more few-off machines. "We started, with Bolide, bringing coachbuilding back by using a drivetrain or rolling chassis and dressing it up in a different design," Heyl said. "We continued to change with the Centodieci, and La Voiture Noire was crazy as a one-off car, and who knows what will come."
He continued, "[It's] an interesting aspect and it’s a growing market, and it’s especially relative to the kind of breed of customer that Bugatti serves – this aspect of ultimate individuality is very, very important. We’d like to develop the brand into a Couture – few-off, one-off, unique – kind of thing."
While Heyl didn't reveal much else about the front-engined Bugatti––at least, outside of its potential Type 57 SC Atlantic influence and more bespoke nature––it can be assumed that pricing for this V16-powered grand tourer will exceed that of the Tourbillon's eye-watering $4.1 million sticker. After all, other high-end manufacturers such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce have also been releasing more limited-run models fetching million-dollar price tags. Rolls recently saw it fit to price its Droptail convertible at over $30 million, and that's without Bugatti's state-of-the-art V16. We can only imagine what the Tourbillon maker will charge for its own front-engined few-offs.
Image Credits: Bugatti
Report
Jul 2, 2024
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Bugatti's New V16 Could Make Its Way Into A Front-Engined Grand Tourer
The company's new head designer referred to it as a successor to the Type 57 SC Atlantic.
Back in 2015, Bugatti tragically cancelled its beautiful front-engined homage to the Type 57 SC Atlantic––being under the ownership of Volkswagen Group at the time, it had to avoid imposing big costs on its parent company as the events of the Dieselgate scandal unfolded. Fortunately, the mid-engined, W16-powered Chiron we know today made it to public roads, but it spent its entire production life by itself. However, its new Tourbillon successor, which has come hot off the press with a groundbreaking hybrid-assisted V16 engine, may not end up alone.
Frank Heyl, the recently-appointed head of design at Bugatti, recently spoke to Autocar about the possibility of a new front-engined model, this time with that monstrous 1,800-horsepower V16 engine under the hood. Just like the concept that unfortunately fell victim to Dieselgate roughly a decade ago, this one would take inspiration from the legendary Type 57 SC Atlantic.
"Certainly," said Heyl regarding the prospect of fitting the V16 into a second Bugatti model. "I mean, look at the Type 57 SC Atlantic: it’s front-engined. So maybe later, but for now we are super-happy that we went this way."
While Bugatti's modern-day hypercars have always had a grand tourer element to them, a front-engined model that doesn't focus on chasing performance numbers would be a refreshing departure from what the company currently builds. "Bugatti has not always just been sports cars," Heyl noted.
A new front-engined Bugatti would more than likely be the result of further expansion of the automaker's Sur Mesure bespoke division. While the firm's recent projects were nothing more than rebodied Chirons, it could eventually move on to produce entirely unique vehicles, solely for the purpose of churning out more few-off machines. "We started, with Bolide, bringing coachbuilding back by using a drivetrain or rolling chassis and dressing it up in a different design," Heyl said. "We continued to change with the Centodieci, and La Voiture Noire was crazy as a one-off car, and who knows what will come."
He continued, "[It's] an interesting aspect and it’s a growing market, and it’s especially relative to the kind of breed of customer that Bugatti serves – this aspect of ultimate individuality is very, very important. We’d like to develop the brand into a Couture – few-off, one-off, unique – kind of thing."
While Heyl didn't reveal much else about the front-engined Bugatti––at least, outside of its potential Type 57 SC Atlantic influence and more bespoke nature––it can be assumed that pricing for this V16-powered grand tourer will exceed that of the Tourbillon's eye-watering $4.1 million sticker. After all, other high-end manufacturers such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce have also been releasing more limited-run models fetching million-dollar price tags. Rolls recently saw it fit to price its Droptail convertible at over $30 million, and that's without Bugatti's state-of-the-art V16. We can only imagine what the Tourbillon maker will charge for its own front-engined few-offs.
Image Credits: Bugatti
