The Bugatti Veyron and Chiron are powered by a W16 engine. This unusual 16-cylinder layout uses four banks of four cylinders arranged in a W configuration.
Bugatti’s engine is an 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged unit developed within the Volkswagen Group. It is effectively built from two narrow-angle VR8 engines sharing a crankshaft, with the banks set at a 90-degree angle. The result is extraordinary power in a relatively compact package, though it also makes the engine complex and expensive to build.
The engine’s story began with the 1999 Bentley Hunaudières concept, whose 8-liter W16 formed the basis for the Veyron powerplant. The Veyron entered production in 2005, and the Chiron later carried over the same basic architecture in heavily updated form.
A common mix-up is confusing W16 with W12. Volkswagen Group also produced W12 engines, but the Bugatti hypercars use the larger 16-cylinder W16. The engine’s four turbochargers are another defining feature.