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IrelandFlat out in the V16 Bugatti Tourbillon, with Mate Rimac at the wheel
Top Gear's Ollie Marriage tours the Molsheim factory, then rides on French roads while Bugatti's boss explains the electric motors and his rule about drifting.
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Story of Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 912,337 views.
Flat Out In The 1800hp V16 Bugatti Tourbillon! | 4K
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- 2:13Rimac says the new Molsheim plant triples Bugatti's production potential without giving up exclusivity.
- 3:36He says the hybrid Tourbillon is lighter than a combustion-only version would be.
- 5:133D-printed parts cut the weight of a suspension corner by 45 percent compared with the Chiron.
- 14:50On the road, Rimac switches between electric, hybrid and pure combustion modes and explains why the V16 stayed naturally aspirated.
- 20:00In rear-wheel-drive mode he drifts the car, because every car he works on must drift.
- 23:32He calls the Tourbillon a platform for possible lighter future models, perhaps with manual gearboxes.
Mate Rimac built his name on electric hypercars. Now he runs Bugatti, and he argues that batteries are what let its new car keep a naturally aspirated 8.3-litre V16.
"Basically, the hybrid is there to make this bonkers engine possible," he tells Top Gear's Ollie Marriage. The film of their afternoon together drew more than 900,000 views in its first 11 hours.
The visit starts in Molsheim, where Bugatti has built cars since Ettore Bugatti's day. Rimac shows a stripped-down Tourbillon chassis and says a new plant can triple the town's production. He makes the case for the hybrid's weight: "That's the only car in the world that's lighter compared to the combustion version." 3D-printed wishbones help there, and he says a suspension corner weighs 45 percent less than the Chiron's.
Then Rimac drives and Marriage rides as passenger. Rimac runs silently on electric power up to 140 km/h, then switches to a pure combustion mode in which the engine never turns off. He says the engineers did nothing to tune the engine or the exhaust for sound. Marriage notices how much the noise changes when the windows come down.
The film's best line about character comes from the man at the wheel: "Every car that I'm involved in has to be able to drift very well." In rear-wheel-drive mode he slides the car through a corner. He says some Bugatti insiders doubted that customers would want this, and that many buyers distrusted the word hybrid until they felt the engine respond. Only one small switch carries over from the Chiron.
Near the end, Rimac describes the Tourbillon as a platform. He suggests it could lead to lighter, simpler cars, perhaps with a manual gearbox in the spirit of the Type 35.
Most of the comments are about Rimac rather than the car. Many viewers note that the founder of an electric car company is the one keeping a combustion engine alive. Others trace Bugatti's long, multinational family tree.
The pairing is familiar on this channel. A Veyron racing a Eurofighter jet in 2008 remains among Top Gear's most watched uploads. Marriage ends the film hoping to drive the Tourbillon himself, and calls that engine "one of the all-time great experiences."
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What viewers say
Who would of thought the guy who started a successful electric car company would bring back passion in gasoline cars. Bravo!
@shadfallfanSee it on YouTubeBugatti history is so wild. Currently a Croatian man inherited the German interpretation of an Italian car company founded by a guy who resided in France
@air-headedaviator1805See it on YouTubeThe best new engine noise in the world right now?
@TopGearSee it on YouTube
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Mate is single handedly saving the future for car guys
@MultiNobody11See it on YouTubeMate drifting a £3.2m Bugatti down a country road with a dab of oppo. Gangster.
@michaelsummerell8618See it on YouTubeHow many car bosses have as much of a handle on their product as that, impressive.
@The__ASHSee it on YouTubeV16 in RWD only sound insane 😂
@Sizo.has.a.channelSee it on YouTubeBugatti is in good hands.
@AirWolfAT6See it on YouTubeA CEO that can drive? Oh yeah Mate went from drifting M3s to running Bugatti.
@robwatson3600See it on YouTubeCommon car enthusiast here but mad respect to Mr. Rimac… he’s brought the human side to the brand other than a corporation. Might never be able to afford one better yet even to see one in real life, but bro has managed to put an actual face to the brand.
@amanialmightySee it on YouTube
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- Channel
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- Channel views, last 7 days
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- Channel views, pace per day
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- Video published
- October 25, 2026
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The numbers
A long, technical factory film from Top Gear passed 900,000 views before it was half a day old. Its likes are already well above the channel's usual first-day total.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which electric hypercar did Mate Rimac's own company build before he took charge of Bugatti?
The Nevera is the all-electric hypercar built by Rimac Automobili, the company Mate Rimac founded in Croatia.