The recently-unveiled Bugatti Tourbillon could spawn a front-engined grand tourer version, according to Autocar, potentially bringing to life a modern-day interpretation of the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic.
The location of the V16 hybrid engine could be moved around to allow for different silhouettes, Bugatti design chief Frank Heyl told the British magazine, and suggested that the Bugatti Sur Mesure division’s expanding scope could grow to creating entirely separate model lines for limited-run, or one-off creations.
The Molsheim, France-based high-end brand has ventured in this direction before with the Galibier, which was to be a four-seater model alongside the Veyron of the time, which was later cancelled to make way for the Veyron sucessor, the Chiron that made its debut in 2016.
A front-engined model with the powertrain from the Tourbillon, as Bugatti could “shuffle bits around” to create a model with its engine located behind and underneath the front axle to reduce the height of its bonnet, as with the Type 57 SC which was effectively crafted as a front-mid-engined car.
Autocar cited Bugatti CEO as saying that the French marque “has not always just been [about] sports cars,” which was taken to hint at the luxury carmaker’s potential diversification beyond the rear-mid-engined layout as used for the Veyron, Chiron and now the Tourbillon.
Bugatti CEO Rimac said that the Tourbillon is the “very first step” in Bugatti’s new era, though without disclosing any timeline for subsequent models from the French marque.
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