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courtesy of the horological tourbillon de- vice – which Bugatti says evokes ‘a sense of peerless quality, craſtsmanship, and techni- cal ability’. The tour prompted a member of the team to suggest ‘Tourbillon’ for the name of the new Bugatti model– and it stuck. The combination of its V16 engine with a


hugely powerful hybrid system and innova- tions such as instruments designed by Swiss watchmaker Concepto and the speaker-less sound system ‘make the car so attractive that it was sold out before it was even shown to the public’, Rimac says. He adds: ‘We’re blessed: our customers


are willing to pay so much money for cars that we can do this automotive art.’ At the same time, he notes the decision to start with a fresh sheet of paper for the Tourbil- lon, ‘doing everything from scratch’, was a


huge gamble. ‘That is the biggest risk; there are no more deep pockets [of VW]. We have to be self-sufficient and finance completely on our own.’ That completely new V16 hybrid power-


plant from scratch is no mean feat. ‘A com- bustion engine needs to be as emotional as possible, and an emotional combustion en- gine is naturally aspirated,’ Rimac explains. ‘No turbos mean less power, [but] I knew that we could make a very strong hybrid sys- tem to make up for that. I was like, “OK, we can get 800 horsepower [from the electric motor]. The Chiron was 1,600 so we need at least 1,800. So the combustion engine needs to be 1,000.”’ He put in a call to Bruce Wood, managing


director of UK engine specialist Cosworth Powertrain. ‘I said, “Hey, I’m not sure if you


ever heard of us.” He was like, “Yeah, I heard of [you].”’ Rimac wanted a non-turbo 1,000 horsepower V16, and gave a timeline. Wood said words to the effect of ‘no problem’. ‘They just did it, we [ran] prototypes for [18 months], never had an engine failure. They did a fantastic job.’ And so began a fruitful partnership. What’s next for the brand? Well, there’s


the prospect of more one-off coachbuilt cars – but the big picture is Rimac’s detailed 10-year plan. ‘We know exactly [what] we want to make in 2031 and 2032,’ he states confidently. What can we expect? In one sense, the answer is simple: ‘Higher in ex- clusivity, higher in perfection.’ A new era has begun. If the Tourbillon is


anything to go by, watching it all unfold will be a lot of fun.


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