Bugatti has unveiled its new hypercar, the Bugatti Tourbillon, and to our great surprise, its name is directly inspired by the world of luxury watchmaking. Let's find out together what a tourbillon is and why it inspired the name of this new car.
What is a whirlwind?
The tourbillon, which means “whirlwind” in French, is a fine mechanical watch complication that performs a rotating movement. Invented in 1795 and patented in 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, founder of the luxury brand Breguet, the tourbillon was intended to make mechanical pocket watches more precise in their measurement of time.
Mechanical watch movements are very sensitive to their position—upright, tilted, or laid flat—because that position determines how their tiny components are affected by gravity. Imagine a small spiral spring (the hairspring) that constantly contracts and expands, 2.5 to 5 times per second. Gravity affects this spring differently depending on its spatial orientation. The tourbillon places this spring and other components in a small, constantly rotating cage, thereby continually changing their position and improving isochronism (the regularity of the precision of a movement) rather than precision itself.
The tourbillon mechanism
The tourbillon is a rotating cage that contains important timekeeping components affected by gravity. By rotating them slowly and continuously, it distributes the damaging effects of gravity more evenly between the different positions, thus achieving a more consistent performance of a mechanical watch. Sometimes brands use aspirational terms like “the tourbillon cancels the effects of gravity,” but, much to our disappointment, the tourbillon is not an anti-gravity device.
The tourbillon is one of the most fascinating features of a mechanical watch. It features frenetically oscillating parts—the back-and-forth motion of the balance wheel and hairspring—placed in a beautifully decorated cage that rotates gently in a clockwise direction. Almost all tourbillons in watches complete one full rotation every 60 seconds. Fast enough to see movement, but slow enough to be elegant.
The Bugatti tourbillon hypercar: a watchmaking inspiration
Why does the new Bugatti hypercar bear the name Tourbillon? There are several reasons, all suitable for a luxury car. Bugatti explains: “Inspired by the timeless elegance of the art of watchmaking, the Tourbillon favors an analogous design. The dashboard is built by Swiss watchmakers, with precision watch manufacturing tolerances and over 600 components. » Rotating wheels and structural components like those inside a watch are all visible, while the speed and rev counters are shaped like hour and minute hands.
Additionally, Bugatti's official watchmaking partner, Jacob & Co., is surely working on a project including a tourbillon…
The fascination of the tourbillon in modern watchmaking
Why is the tourbillon a popular and expensive feature in watches? Contrary to what one might expect, this is not for its performance-enhancing abilities, but because it is beautiful to see in operation. The tourbillon is one of the most spectacular and mesmerizing complications a mechanical watch can have today.
Although wristwatches did not exist at the time Breguet invented the tourbillon, that did not stop watchmakers, especially in the last 20-30 years, from inventing ever more spectacular ways of integrate the tourbillon into their wristwatches. The watch collecting community has debated the effectiveness of the tourbillon in improving the accuracy of a wristwatch for decades, but one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the tourbillon is among the complications the most spectacular and captivating that a mechanical watch can possess.
Technological advances in tourbillon manufacturing
The world's top watchmakers, like Jacob & Co., Greubel Forsey, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, use five-axis CNC machines and the latest computer-aided design (CAD) software for design and prototyping. They created multi-axis tourbillons, sometimes adding two, three or even four tourbillons into a single watch! These high-tech masterpieces are a true feat of modern engineering and manufacturing.
It's important to note that, despite the impressive engineering of tourbillons, they don't necessarily make watches more precise. The elegant rotation of a tourbillon actually makes it more difficult to adjust the movement for perfect precision. Paradoxically, you can get a chronometer-certified watch for around $1,000, but you can easily spend $100,000 on a tourbillon that will be less accurate.
A passion shared between watchmaking and automobiles
Bugatti is not alone in pushing the boundaries of modern engineering and manufacturing technologies. Renowned watchmakers continue to explore new ways to incorporate ever more complex and fascinating tourbillons into their creations. The collaboration between Bugatti and Jacob & Co. is a perfect example of this shared passion for precision and innovation.
Whether you are a watch lover or a car enthusiast, the Bugatti Tourbillon Hypercar is a tribute to the elegance and complexity of watchmaking, while embodying the performance and luxury of cutting-edge automobiles.
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