The Next Bugatti Could Be Front-Engined

It’s not even been 24 hours since the world was introduced to the Bugatti Tourbillon, but already, the company is making some noises about where its mighty 1775bhp, V16 hybrid powertrain could end up next.

Autocar spoke to Bugatti’s design director, Frank Heyl, who revealed that there’s scope for the powertrain to sit not just in the middle, but in the front of a car, too. “Look at the Type 57SC Atlantic: it’s front-engined. So maybe later, but for now we are super happy that we went [mid-engined].”

The Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, produced in just four units between 1936 and 1938, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and valuable cars ever. Heyl has namechecked it as influencing the the design of the Tourbillon, specifically its ultra-low silhouette (the ‘S’ in the 57SC’s name stands for ‘surbaissé’, the French for ‘lower’).

It could have more influence on a future production car, though. Heyl also suggested that Bugatti’s Sur Mesure division – its bespoke personalisation wing – could be further diversified with the creation of more exclusive model lines, separate to the mainline Tourbillon. This could spur the production of an exclusive front-engined GT.

Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac, though, advised that we likely won’t see a distinct new model from the company for a while, as it prioritises winding up production of the Mistral roadster and Bolide track car then getting the Tourbillon into customers’ hands from 2026.

At any rate, it won’t be the first time the modern iteration of Bugatti has flirted with the idea of a front-engined car: in addition to a number of late ’90s concept cars, 2009’s Galibier concept was a vision of an ultra-luxury fastback saloon, powered by a twin-supercharged version of the firm’s 8.0-litre W16.

It had originally been planned as the company’s first post-Veyron model, but its development was nixed by VW and work started on the Chiron instead. Hopefully, this time we’ve got a better chance of seeing a Bugatti in the image of the elegant grand tourers it built in the early 20th century.