A Closer Look At The 8.0L Quad Turbocharged W16 Engine That Powers The Bugatti La Voiture Noire

Unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the one-of-a-kind La Voiture Noire is perhaps one of Bugatti's most expensive cars, with a staggering price tag of around $18.7 million. The supercar is a tribute to the missing Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the four Atlantics built in the '30s by Jean Bugatti himself. Aptly translating to "The Black Car," this luxurious beauty is drenched in a deep black carbon fiber gloss with the signature Bugatti lines to its sides and an illuminating company logo on the front and back.

The new La Voiture Noire channels the same spirits of the original Atlantic while fusing the traditional design elements with a modern touch. Echoing the timeless elegance of its predecessor, the central line and the elongated coupé somehow blend very well with Bugatti's modern style of sleek and fierce-looking supercars. The La Voiture Noire isn't all about appearance since the W16 engine found underneath is "the last of its kind," as Bugatti says.

A culmination of two angled V8 engines fused in a W configuration, this 8-liter 16-cylinder engine has powered Bugatti's supercars for nearly two decades. First announced in 2005 in the technical details for the Veyron 16.4, Bugatti's W16 engine soon became synonymous with power and speed — boasting an acceleration from 0 to 62 mph in 2.4 seconds and a top speed of 248 mph.

With over 3,500 individual parts assembled by hand, the W16 engine rocks four turbochargers, allowing for a maximum power output of 1,500 horsepower in each wheel and a torque of 1,180 lb-ft. These impressive specifications are only possible thanks to the engineering marvels Bugatti had to come up with. To handle misfires or knocking in the engine, the supercar manufacturer developed the Bugatti Ion Current Sensing (BIS) system, which allowed each cylinder to run precisely, allowing maximum output while minimizing combustion inefficiency. 

The secret behind the maintained temperatures of the W16 engine, even at full load, is the complex water-cooling system. Using titanium for the exhaust system further ensures that any sportscar fitted with the W16 engine does not overheat. 

Bugatti claims it takes six days and two experts to manually assemble the W16 engine at Volkswagen's engine plant in Salzgitter. Twenty years of engineering have allowed Bugatti to manufacture the only 16-cylinder engine in a car — with the same footprint as a traditional V12 engine. Perhaps it is only apt for something this fine-tuned to be fitted into a one-of-a-kind hypercar, explaining why the La Voiture Noire is so expensive.

The carbon fiber body, highly aerodynamic chassis, and Bugatti's excellence in automotive engineering let this supercar reach unprecedented RPM levels while staying grounded. Adding to its mystique, no one besides Bugatti knows who the buyer of this dream machine is.

The mere existence and historical significance of the La Voiture Noire reflects how Bugatti is not an automotive manufacturer but an innovator — and the mighty powerful W16 engine underneath the sleek hood of the reincarnated supercar sets new benchmarks in the luxury hypercar realm.