Bugatti’s New $4 Million Tourbillon Has the Craziest Steering Wheel Ever

Bugatti is known for its very fast, expensive and extravagant cars. The company is also known for upping the ante every time a new model is launched, and the new Bugatti Tourbillon, launched on Friday, fits that profile perfectly.

The name tourbillon comes from the world of mechanical watches, where it refers to a cool-looking rotating object that makes the watch a little more precise and a lot more expensive. On the Bugatti Tourbillon, it also indicates the price – the car starts at 3.8 million euros ($4.06 million) – but mostly it’s a nod to mechanical watchmakers who dare to be different.

The Bugatti Tourbillon is indeed very different, not only compared to other cars, but also compared to other Bugattis.

It’s the first Bugatti in decades that isn’t powered by a turbocharged W16 engine, but rather a 1,000-horsepower 8.3-liter naturally aspirated V16 engine paired with three electric motors (two at the front, one at the rear) producing an additional 800 HP.

What, did you think the doors opened sideways?
Credit: Bugatti Rimac

All the figures are not yet available, but what we do know is pretty crazy: the top speed is 440 km/h, the car goes from 0 to 186 km/h in less than 10 seconds and from 0 to 100 km /h in less than two seconds. The only way your electric Volkswagen might fare better is in all-electric range, which is just 37 miles for the Tourbillon.

The fact that the Bugatti is now partially electric is no surprise given that Bugatti is now part of Bugatti Rimac, whose CEO Mate Rimac is known for his electric supercar, the Rimac Nevera. This is also a very strong trend, since sports car manufacturers such as Porsche, Lamborghini or Koenigsegg have all gone fully or partially electric in the last two years.

Wait, where are all the screens?
Credit: Bugatti Rimac

But inside, the Tourbillon decidedly doesn’t look electric, opting instead for a car interior equivalent to an expensive mechanical watch. Among the many analog gadgets inside, the one that catches the eye is the instrument cluster, which is placed inside the steering wheel but remains fixed when you turn the wheel. It sounds strange, yes, but we think it’s the kind of thing people with $4 million to spend on a car are looking for.

The details make a car look like the Tourbillon, and there are tons of them to discover. The materials are, of course, the most expensive you can get; As Christophe Piochon, president of Bugatti, said in a press release: “If you see a piece of what you think is titanium, then that’s it.” This especially applies to the instrument cluster, which is constructed from titanium as well as precious stones like sapphire and ruby, as well as the center console, which is a “mixture of crystalline gas and aluminum.” Oh, and Bugatti engineers even thought about increasing the storage space compared to the Chiron, although you’ll have to buy custom Bugatti luggage to take full advantage of it.

If you think it’s titanium, then it is. The trick is to never think about cheap materials.
Credit: Bugatti Rimac

The Bugatti Tourbillon has now entered its “testing phase”, with prototypes already on the road. Customer deliveries are planned for 2026; Bugatti says 250 units will be made (by hand, of course), and Rimac says they’re all “mostly” already sold out.