Bugatti V16 Engine: Just the Ticket or Too Much Too Late?

When Bugatti released a news statement in the summer of 2022, hailing the 8.0-liter W16 engine as “the last of its kind,” the majority of us threw our hands in the air. That’s it. Time for smaller displacement turbo engines and a whole lot of electric mumbo-jumbo. By that point, the Bugatti W16 had been around for almost 20 years, with Veyron buyers receiving the first engine all the way back in 2005. For as sensationally powerful as the quad-turbo W16 is, it has been growing relatively long in the tooth in recent years.

But then, on February 29th of 2024, Bugatti dropped a video teasing the sights and sounds of an all-new V16 engine, along with a company statement that this will become “…a new automotive pinnacle.” Faster than you can ring the butler, Bugatti built an metric-ton of buzz within the upper echelon of the global social class. Even we lowly peasants have gotten in on the supercar conversation, not just for the sake of speculation, but because that is as close as we will ever get to controlling such a lofty pedigree of propulsion.

We all knew that the follow-up to the outgoing Chiron would be an ultra-bespoke hypercar. We just foolishly presumed that Bugatti would follow in the footsteps of other automakers, by downsizing in the engine development department. Something powered by the likes of a twin-turbo V8, or maybe even a V10 would fit the bill, right?

But oh how Bugatti loves to surprise, and stick with the billionaire big guns it has at its disposal. No one predicted a shift toward a V16 engine, the likes of which the world has never seen. But, here it comes, and by The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch does it sound devilishly delightful.

So what do we know outside of the obvious optical and auditory ecstasy encapsulated within the sexy snippet seen above? Not much save for the fact that this V16 Bugatti engine will be electrically hybridized and that both it, and the vehicle it will be propelling, have absolutely nothing to do with Bugatti’s VAG parent company, Porsche, or any other Bugatti for that matter.

Photo Credit: Bugatti/YouTube

Let the V16 Engine Assumptions Commence

As to be expected, rumors have run rampant ever since Bugatti teased the engine on Leap Day 2024, and divulged that it will be a hybrid-assisted V16. Some claim that because of this configuration, the V16 engine will be a naturally aspirated 8.3-liter Cosworth creation with three 250kW electric motors. Others say it will sit square at 8.0 liters and will be boosted like the old W16 engine the unit replaces. Whatever the prediction, one thing is certain: This sort of automotive sorcery has never been done before, and the engine should easily make well over 1000 horsepower even before the electric assist engine(s) engage, if Bugatti’s previous 16-cylinder engine is any indicator.

So why has it taken so long for the V16 to catch on? Cost, engine bay space, and buyer appeal all come to mind, but what about the history of the V16? Surely some versions of this massive powerplant have worked over the years.

Photo Credit: Bugatti/YouTube

Unlike the W16, which has seen a splattering of usage over the past century, production V16 engines have been an anomaly. Cadillac had its V16 in the 1930s (which it named after said engine), but that was basically two inefficient inline-eight-cylinder engine joined at a 45-degree angle.

In fact, there hasn’t been much in the way of V16-powered automobiles since the Cadillac V16, with every vehicle packing a V16 post-World War II, either being labeled a prototype or pure vaporware. The last genuine attempt at tapping into this power source was in the late 1980s when the lipstick-red interior of the Cizeta-Moroder V16T had its brief moment of glory in the international limelight.

?si=1nx9Cjx-MQRuTGN

A Picture Speaks Volumes

Bugatti may have announced that the vehicle will not be unveiled until sometime in June, but the images of the engine itself tell us plenty already. The engine layout is made somewhat self-explanatory thanks to the numericized firing order being clearly displayed on top of the engine.

According to Engineering Explained, this makes it an obvious assumption that the V16 is likely two 90-degree V8 engines attached end-to-end. Bugatti’s images of a prototype bottom end with a cross-plane crankshaft sporting a 90-degree offset crankpins, further support this assumption.

Photo Credit: Mate Rimac/Facebook

Bugatti Weighs-In On the V16

Being that this is Bugatti we are discussing, the need to hold onto the title of having the “only 16-cylinder engine in the world to be used in a car,” proved to be too compelling, and so a 16-cylinder replacement project for the discontinued W16 was secretly implemented. As the attached imagery and quote below from Bugatti CEO, Mate Rimac, clearly illustrates, the development of a V16 has been on the front burner ever since the moment the automaker announced the retirement of the W16 in July of 2022.

It was very hard to keep quiet about such an amazing development. And there are many more such surprises waiting with the rest of the car! I am incredibly proud on what the team has managed to pull off and not go crazy with me over the last years. — Mate Rimac, Bugatti CEO & Founder, CEO at Rimac Automobili

Photo Credit: Mate Rimac/Facebook

According to Rimac’s responses on social media to questions about the new V16, this engine has been developed from scratch within Bugatti Rimac, and is “completely independent from VW/Porsche.” Furthermore, Rimac has insisted that this car will be so unique, that it will sever ties with all other Bugatti models, both past and present. What that means for power production, reliability, efficiency, and vehicle design language remains to be seen. So until June’s big reveal, we’ll just have to sit back, keep that V16 teaser video in our browsers, and enjoy the noise.