Timeless elegance and speed: a glimpse into the design process of the Bugatti Tourbillon [Photo Gallery]

In the second instalment of the storied marque’s ‘A New Era’ docuseries, Bugatti Director of Design, Frank Heyl, explores how the timeless form of the Bugatti Tourbillon¹ is shaped by the pursuit of speed – and the incomparable emotion of experiencing a Bugatti in this exciting new chapter.

Premiering on YouTube today, July 25^th, the latest episode of the new series reveals the insights of Frank Heyl, Director of Design, into the thrill – and challenge – of crafting a fresh incarnation of quintessential Bugatti design philosophy.

“With over 115 years of Bugatti history, there is a rich legacy of design DNA that we can reference to; we have a guiding line emphasizing what defines a Bugatti,” explains Frank Heyl. “What we need to take into account is this: form always follows performance.”

Echoed across every Bugatti design in the modern era, the Tourbillon is ‘shaped by speed’ from front to rear. Through each curve, intake, exhaust, and panel – the entire architecture of the Tourbillon has been meticulously crafted to unlock new levels of performance.

In this vein, aerodynamic performance goes hand-in-hand with every design decision made. Whether it is top speed, or a high downforce value like in the Bugatti Bolide² – the question is asked: is there a performance purpose connected to it?

Such attention to engineering-detail is infused throughout the car, enabling the Tourbillon to harness the forces of travelling at more than 400 km/h. But for Bugatti, that is only half of the story the Tourbillon has been crafted to tell in this new chapter for the brand.

With the Tourbillon, and every Bugatti that came before it, timelessness is at the core of its design. “Bugatti is about the interplay between elegance and speed,” Frank Heyl notes. “Because these cars are around for so long, we also need to keep them current and in-vogue. What dates a car is the technology of the time it was created in; 100 years from now, today’s technology won’t be cutting-edge anymore. Instead, we need to focus on preciousness.”

The design philosophy behind the Tourbillon faithfully reflects this ethos. Taking inspiration from the art of watchmaking, the timelessness of century-old timepieces and their use even today, the cabin of the Tourbillon is defined by an authentically unique analogue experience.

For Frank Heyl and the Tourbillon design team, experience is the operative word in this new era of Bugatti.

“The experience – that is what we tailor-made the Tourbillon to evoke. It is about how you feel when you sit in the driver’s seat; touching the aluminum switchgear; how weighted the dials are when you turn them; the smell of the leather; the noise of the naturally aspirated, 9,000 RPM V16 engine. It sounds really emotional.

The design of the Tourbillon could be seen as an evolutionary approach. However, the radicality and extremeness of this concept’s execution is unlike anything we have ever done before. We believe through this approach, the experience of driving, owning, and living with a Bugatti is incomparable. You simply have to experience it.” – FRANK HEYL, BUGATTI DIRECTOR OF DESIGN

Watch the full episode ‘A New Era: Design Philosophy’ here:

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