Bugatti has released the latest instalment of its A New Era series, this time documenting the noise certification of the Tourbillon. The film joins a series duPont REGISTRY has followed since the Tourbillon's June 2024 reveal, covering everything from the car’s design, powertrain, aerodynamics, connection to horology, Arctic validation testing, and Mate Rimac driving a customer-specification car in the snow.
Sound is an integral part of the exotic-car experience. For nearly two decades, the sound of Molsheim was the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16. It powered the Veyron and Chiron through some of Bugatti's most significant speed milestones, including the Veyron Super Sport's 267.8 mph run in 2010 and the Chiron Super Sport 300+'s 304.77 mph run in 2019.
While performance figures tell you how fast a car is, induction, combustion and exhaust give that performance much of its character. For Bugatti, replacing the W16 therefore meant creating not just a new engine, but a new voice for the French marque.
The Tourbillon takes a very different approach as its naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16 revs to 9,000 rpm, and according to Bugatti's engineers, the marque’s engines have historically always had a degree of rawness to them, and preserving that character became one of the defining targets for the new car.
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Getting there required thousands of simulations across the exhaust and intake systems. Engineers then worked extensively on the car's acoustic package so the mechanical sound of the engine and intake reaches the cabin naturally. Nothing is synthesized through the speakers. The objective was to retain enough of the V16's character to connect the driver with engine speed and throttle input, while keeping the cabin comfortable when cruising.
The certification process itself is more demanding than it sounds. Under UNECE R51.03, the Tourbillon passes through a 20-meter measurement section with two microphones positioned at its midpoint. Multiple constant-speed and accelerated runs are combined to produce the final result, with a limit of 72 decibels.
Engine noise is only part of that figure because tires make a significant contribution, as does aerodynamic noise from the bodywork. On the Tourbillon, even the active rear wing enters the equation because a surface capable of producing substantial downforce can also generate sound as air passes over it.
Conditions have to cooperate too because both temperature and wind speed must both remain within prescribed tolerances, particularly because tire noise changes with temperature. A gust of wind exceeding the permitted parameters can invalidate an otherwise successful run.
Development of the Tourbillon's sound alone has taken close to three years, and the result is not simply a louder or higher-revving successor to the W16, but an attempt to give Bugatti's next generation its own mechanical identity while preserving the rawness engineers consider part of the marque's character. The Cosworth-built V16 produces 986 horsepower on its own, with three electric motors lifting total output to 1,800 horsepower and 276 mph top speed. Priced from $4 million, production is capped at 250 units, all of which have been spoken for.
Images: Bugatti
