The Bugatti Tourbillon may have been designed to look like the future of the marque, but a new video shared by renowned London-based automotive influencer Freddie Atkins, better known as TFJJ, suggests that its sound belongs to a far more visceral world. Atkins has built a substantial following by documenting rare and exotic cars, often capturing them in real-world settings where their designs, sounds, and personalities can be experienced beyond polished manufacturer footage.
The Instagram Reel opens from inside the cabin as the Tourbillon’s massive naturally aspirated V16 is revved, immediately revealing a raspy, raw character that feels strikingly different from the smoother, more heavily filtered voice of the W16 that powered the Veyron, Chiron, and their derivatives. Rather than producing the dense, forceful note associated with Bugatti’s quad-turbocharged W16, the new engine sounds exposed and mechanical as it climbs through the rev range. There is a sharpness to the soundtrack that makes the V16 seem almost impatient, as though the enormous engine is gathering speed faster than the cabin can contain its voice. It is the kind of sound that makes the Tourbillon feel like a completely new chapter for Bugatti.
The footage also offers a glimpse of the extraordinary cabin of the hypercar. The Tourbillon’s beautifully sculpted steering wheel appears in the foreground, while behind it sits the floating instrument cluster inspired by the intricate construction of mechanical watches. Its visible mechanical detailing reinforces one of the central ideas behind the Tourbillon, which is that advanced automotive engineering can coexist with the craftsmanship and fascination with precision associated with haute horology. Yet in TFJJ’s video, all of that intricate design almost becomes a backdrop to the V16, whose voice dominates the experience. The contrast is particularly compelling because the cabin looks delicate and meticulously engineered while the engine sounds wonderfully untamed.
The heart of that soundtrack is an 8.3-liter naturally aspirated V16 developed by British engineering specialist Cosworth in collaboration with Bugatti, with the engine itself capable of producing 986 horsepower. It revs to 9,000 rpm and forms the combustion-engine core of a hybrid powertrain that produces 1,800 horsepower when its three electric motors are included. Unlike the previous generation, there are no turbochargers shaping the character of the engine, leaving the V16’s intake, combustion, and exhaust sounds to create a much more direct acoustic identity. That helps explain why the Tourbillon in the video sounds so different from the W16-powered Bugattis that came before it.
Bugatti has also made clear that this character was not left to chance. In the latest installment of its A New Era series, the company explained that engineers spent close to three years developing the Tourbillon’s acoustics, running thousands of simulations across the intake and exhaust systems while working to preserve what they described as a degree of rawness historically associated with Bugatti engines. The company also engineered the acoustic package so that the mechanical sound reaches the cabin naturally rather than being synthesized through the speakers. At the same time, the Tourbillon had to satisfy modern noise regulations, with engine, tire, and aerodynamic sounds all contributing to the certification process.
TFJJ’s Reel ends by stepping outside the car, where the V16 sounds even more unrestrained as people rush toward the Tourbillon to capture the moment on their phones. The car itself wears an arresting combination of pearl white and dark gray with exposed carbon fiber, while Mate Rimac can be seen driving the hypercar in another sequence. But it is the final few seconds that leave the strongest impression, because the sound no longer feels like an engineering specification or a carefully controlled demonstration. It simply sounds wild, mechanical, and unmistakably alive, giving the Tourbillon a voice that is every bit as distinctive as the extraordinary machine surrounding it.
