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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.

Filmmaker explains how to shoot a Bugatti Chiron accelerating to 248 mph

Bugatti set a world record in 2017 when a Chiron traveled from zero to 248 mph (400 kph) to zero in 42 seconds. It caught the record on film, but it has never revealed how it captured footage of a 1,500-horsepower car traveling at nearly four times the speed limit of an American interstate. Filmmaker Al Clark revealed his secrets in a video. It was clear from the beginning of the project that simply placing a GoPro on the dashboard and hitting "record" wouldn't have cut it. Bugatti wanted a feature-quality film that showed the car from many different angles, so Clark worked with some of the most talented names in the automotive film industry to make it happen. The scenes showing the Chiron from above were filmed using an Aerospatiale 355N Ecureuil helicopter because a drone would be too slow to keep up with the car, and it wouldn't be able to stay in the air long enough.  German studio Format67 provided a Caterham Seven transformed into a film car to capture some of the car-to-car footage. The crew also borrowed its hood to use as a shield against reflections during one of the photo shoots. It's quick and agile, so it's well suited to performing camera car duty, but it can't keep up with a Chiron. "I love real speed in shots. I think it's so important that the cars are doing something approaching their real speed, because when you start to speed up stuff everything looks wrong," Clark explained. Putting footage on fast forward wasn't an option, neither was attaching the camera to a cable and pelting it down the track. The answer was surprisingly simple: The crew used another Chiron as the camera car and launched them at the same time. The record was set on Volkswagen's test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, which is also where a 304-mph Chiron became the fastest car in the world in 2019. The main straight is long and smooth, so the footage captured was perfectly steady in spite of the head-spinning speed; Clark even chose to dial in a little bit of camera shake during the editing process. It wasn't perfectly in focus, though, because the camera filmed through the exhaust gases, and the system gets extremely hot when the quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine is giving its all. Juan Pablo Montoya, the courageous Indy 500-winning pilot who set the 2017 record, said "it was all quite easy." Clark's firsthand account confirms the same can't be said about capturing the feat on video. Related Video:       Bugatti Technology Gadgets Luxury Performance

Bugatti Veyron Legend 'Jean Bugatti' bows ahead of Frankfurt reveal

Bugatti has just unveiled its second Bugatti Legends car ahead of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Like the car it displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Frankfurt car is based on the 1200-horsepower Grand Sport Vitesse, and honors one of the great figures from Bugatti's history - Jean Bugatti.
Yes, that's a famous last name. Jean was the oldest son of founder Ettore Bugatti, but his claim to fame goes far beyond his lineage. Jean designed the Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the rarest, most expensive and sought after vehicles ever made. In honor of his work, the latest Bugatti Legends car is based on Jean's personal Type 57SC, known as La Voiture Noire, or The Black Car.
Finished entirely in black carbon fiber, the grille surround and EB badges are made of platinum, a first for Bugatti. The black exterior, even with the use of a precious metal, is much more subdued than what we've grown used to with special edition Bugattis. Sporting a set of diamond cut, twin five-spoke wheels, the Legend Jean Bugatti features the designers signature in Arctic Gray on the gas and oil caps.