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Saudi Prince buys Bugatti Chiron and Vision Gran Turismo

The 1,500 horsepower, $2.5 million 2017 Bugatti Chiron isn't on sale yet. The car isn't even production ready. That doesn't mean you can't get your hands on one. Just ask Prince Badr bin Saud of Saudi Arabia, who recently purchased two one-off versions of the upcoming hypercar. Prince Badr recently posted a photo to his Instagram account showing the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept that debuted last year parked alongside the Chiron concept car from the Geneva Motor Show. The photos was taken by photographer GFWilliams, who posted a few on his Facebook page. There's no word on how much the Prince paid for the pair, but Carscoops estimates it's in excess of $5 million, based on the production car's MSRP. Carscoops also quoted Bugatti, who said that the Prince had the highest bid, implying that he wasn't the only interested party. While both cars are pre-production concepts, they still have Bugatti's quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine. It's unclear if the cars are drivable, but the photos do show both have Saudi Arabian license plates. Even if the cars don't actually run, they'll make some pretty impressive display pieces. In a few weeks, the Vision Gran Turismo is set to appear at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance alongside another Chiron, so it seems Prince Badr hasn't yet taken possession of the cars. Once he does, these two rare Bugatti models are sure to enter an impressive collection in Saudi Arabia. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bugatti Chiron Pair News Source: CarscoopsImage Credit: Instagram, GFWilliams Bugatti Supercars Bugatti Chiron

Bugatti announces V16-electric hybrid drivetrain for Chiron successor

Bugatti sent off the quad-turbocharged W16 engine that has powered all of its 21st-century models with a limited-edition, 1,600-horsepower roadster named Mistral. Rumors about what could power its future cars ran rampant; the brand confirmed a hybrid system for the Chiron's successor, and some sources detailed a downsized engine. Ending years of speculation, Bugatti has announced a new 16-cylinder engine. The difference is in the prefix: the Veyron, the Chiron, and few-off models like the Divo all used a W16 engine, with cylinders arranged — as the name implies — in a W configuration. The new unit will have a V configuration. Put another way, think of the W16 as a pair of narrow-angle V8s and of the V16 as a pair of straight-eights. Bugatti isn't the first company to build a V16 engine, Cadillac famously used one in the 1930s and BMW experimented with one in the 1990s, but there's not a single V16-powered new car currently on the market.  Bugatti stopped short of revealing technical specifications, so we'll need to be patient to learn details such as the engine's displacement and power output. However, the French brand reiterated what we already knew: the V16 will be part of a hybrid powertrain. Here again details are vague, but Autoblog learned that the Chiron's yet-unnamed successor will use a plug-in hybrid system. Rimac, which owns Bugatti, has previously described the drivetrain as "heavily electrified." This suggests (though nothing is official) that the model will be capable of running on electricity alone for relatively short distances. It looks like carbon fiber will play a significant role in offsetting the hybrid system's weight. Achim Anscheidt, Bugatti's former design director, told Autoblog in 2022 that the Chiron's successor will "certainly be tailored to one or the other aspect of a hybrid" in terms of design. The model will be built around a new monocoque, which gives the design team now headed by Frank Heyl the freedom to dial in new proportions. Don't expect a radical change, however: the car will still be recognizable as a Bugatti. Bugatti will unveil the Chiron's successor in June 2024, and we expect to learn more about the model in the coming months. Related video:

Bugatti looks back at how how it developed the W16 engine

As the end of the Chiron's production run nears, Bugatti is taking a look back at the W16 engine that has powered its cars since it returned to the scene nearly 20 years ago. The engine is relatively compact, hugely powerful, and it has helped the firm set several world records. Former Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Karl Piech knew that successfully reviving Bugatti required building a car that stood out from everything else on the road at the time. He initially planned to power the then-upcoming Veyron with an 18-cylinder engine and sketched it out on an envelope while riding on a high-speed train from Tokyo to Osaka in Japan in 1997. His concept later became a 16-cylinder engine, but dropping a pair of cylinders didn't make the unit easier to develop. Bugatti engineers started from scratch in order to make the W16 a reality. "We had to engage in basic development for every component; every vehicle part had to be constructed anew and tested — even the engine test bench. The only thing we didn't change was the pencils we used for drawing," said former Bugatti head of technical development Gregor Gries. The initial goal was to launch the Veyron with over 1,000 horsepower, and even some insiders doubted that this could be achieved. Bugatti pulled it off: The Veyron entered production in 2005 with a quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter W16 engine rated at 1,000 horsepower and 922 pound-feet of torque. Horsepower increased to 1,200 in the Veyron Super Sport, and the Chiron inaugurated a new version of the engine rated at 1,500 horsepower thanks in part to bigger turbos, though the Chiron Super Sport offers a 1,600-horsepower output. Engineers faced several significant challenges during the Veyron's development process. Getting the W16 to make 1,000 horsepower wasn't one; it broke the symbolic barrier the first time it was put on a test bench in 2001. Keeping its temperature in check required designing a massive cooling system that takes over 10 gallons of coolant and installing a titanium exhaust system. With the engine ready to go, Bugatti turned its attention to creating a car capable of coping with 1,000 horsepower, both in terms of comfort and in terms of aerodynamics. "Back then, there was no literature or empirical data for production engines with more than 12 cylinders or for production vehicles that could go faster than 217 mph," said Karl-Heinz Neumann, Volkswagen's former head of engine development.