Cosworth V16 buzz around Tourbillon
Top Gear and industry deep-dives are spotlighting Cosworth’s role as the supplier of the sensational V16 for the Bugatti Tourbillon — underlining how boutique engineering partners are central to current hypercar tech. The technical profile is being framed as part of a broader renaissance in exotic powertrain craftsmanship ( | ).
Cosworth says Bugatti first approached it in 2021 and the British firm turned detailed designs into a running V16 on a dyno at its Northampton headquarters after a 13‑month development sprint, announced in a Cosworth news release dated June 21, 2024 (cosworth.com). The combustion unit is an 8.35‑litre naturally aspirated V16 that Cosworth engineered to rev to 9,000 rpm with a cross‑plane crank and 90° bank angle, per Cosworth’s technical breakdown (cosworth.com). Bore and stroke are reported as 92.0 mm × 78.55 mm yielding ~8.3 litres, and the complete engine carries an all‑up mass of about 252 kg — figures published in industry technical profiles of the project (pmw-magazine.com). Mechanical packaging includes a 900 mm single‑billet crankshaft and sub‑metre total engine length, with weight savings achieved via titanium connecting rods and a carbon‑fibre inlet plenum, according to detailed Cosworth notes and race‑engine technical coverage ( ). Cosworth’s V16 produces roughly 1,000 hp by itself and is mated to a hybrid system of three electric motors (two front, one rear) to deliver a combined output in the 1,775–1,800 hp band, as stated by Bugatti and corroborated in multiple technical reports ( ). Bugatti’s official spec sheet lists 0–100 km/h in 2.0 s and 0–400 km/h in under 25 s for the Tourbillon, while Top Gear notes the car carries a roughly 25 kWh battery mounted down the spine weighing about 200 kg as part of the hybrid architecture ( ). Industry briefings say the Tourbillon program represents Cosworth’s largest planned production run to date at around 250 units and follows the firm’s recent combustion partnerships on the Aston Martin Valkyrie, GMA T.50/T.33 and other limited hypercar projects (automotivepowertraintechnologyinternational.com).
