"Electrification was all the rage... it isn't anymore": Why Bugatti's new hypercar will have a massive naturally-aspirated V16 petrol engine! - report

When Rimac took over the Bugatti brand from Volkswagen, there were speculative whispers that Bugatti’s future was to be electric.

Those rumours weren't true. The next Bugatti hypercar will have a naturally-aspirated V16 petrol engine and the brand’s eponymous CEO Mate Rimac has given more details of the next model, including explaining why he hasn’t taken his renowned Rimac electric hypercar tech over to Bugatti.

Rimac told UK publication Autocar that before his company - known for its viciously fast electric hypercars - took over Bugatti from Volkswagen, the plan VW had for the prestige hypercar brand was “to make an electric coupé-SUV type of thing”.

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"Management was saying the next car has to be electric," he told Autocar, "You could very easily and convincingly make a Bugatti out of [the Rimac Nevera] – just make a different design and call it a day – but I thought that was absolutely wrong for the brand.”

The Rimac Nevera is accompanied by a truly ludicrous set of numbers, including 1427kW, 2340Nm outputs, a 0-100km/h sprint of 1.81 seconds and a top speed of 412km/h.

In fact, it’s able to go from stand-still to 300km/h and back to a halt in 9.22 seconds - it would all make a lot of sense for Bugatti, given the Chiron was able to go from 0-400-0 km/h in 42 seconds with former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the wheel.

Bugatti's W16 nestled in a Chiron

Mate Rimac gave two reasons for forgoing the move to electric and instead opting for the metre-long V16 engine that’s bound for Bugatti’s next hypercar.

"Luckily, I won that argument three years ago when electrification was all the rage, which it isn't any more..."

Rimac refers to the global slow-down in demand for electric cars, even at the top-end of the price range. His Nevera is limited to 150 units and not all have sold yet.

Aside from the logic of demand, Rimac says the Bugatti brand deserves a car that speaks to buyers’ hearts, quoting founder Ettore Bugatti.

"You can achieve the power figures we have with the V16 from a very highly turbocharged V8, but we wanted to have it very emotional. It has to feel special, because 'if it is comparable, it is no longer Bugatti'."  

The V16 will, however, be hybrid-assisted, and so likely to top the Chiron W16’s output of 1177kW in Super Sport guise.

The front-running rumour for now is that iconic British engineering firm Cosworth is developing the engine, and that it’s set to come in at roughly 8.3-litres, Autocar says.