BugattiBugatti is famous for its 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine, and in many ways, it's completely unique. It's the only 16-cylinder car engine that remains in production today, yet it's no bigger than an average V12. In order to build it in the first place, Bugatti had to develop most of its own testing tools and refine the design over the course of almost three decades. In that time, it was a W16 for the most part, before the 277 mph Bugatti Tourbillon switched to a more conventional V16. It isn't, however, the only engine on the market to feature four turbochargers.In 2026, there's another established hypercar maker that uses a similar setup, as well as a fresh-faced startup that aims to launch the third quad-turbo engine soon. The established carmaker is Zenvo, which produced its first car back in 2009. That initial car, the ST1, featured a V8 engine with both a supercharger and a turbocharger, proving the brand's affinity for unusual engine design from the get-go. The brand's next car, the 2016 TS1 GT, switched to a similarly unusual twin-supercharged layout, but its latest Aurora hypercar uses a quad-turbo 6.6-liter V12 engine.The Aurora's V12 is made by Mahle Powertrain, and it produces 1,250 horsepower while still being road legal in both the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, the Aurora features electric motors generating 600 horsepower, bringing the car's combined output up to 1,850 horsepower.Could more quad-turbo engines be on the way?ZenvoA limited run of 100 examples of the Aurora are being built, but that might not be the last we'll see of the Zenvo-Mahle quad-turbo engine. Mahle says that the design is modular, and so V8 and V6 versions could also potentially be built later down the line. It's also reasonable to think that Zenvo could reuse and refine the engine in a future model, since its twin-supercharged V8 appeared in four different models before being retired. Either way, it's unlikely that Bugatti will be able to claim the title of being the world's only quad-turbo engine builder anytime soon.Even if Zenvo eventually does stop producing its latest engine, another hypercar startup is aiming to join the ranks of the exclusive quad-turbo engine club. Giamaro Automobili is a recently launched Italian startup that might have gone under the radar of enthusiasts, as it has stayed relatively quiet while its first car is under development. That car, the Katla, was unveiled in 2025, and it features a 7.0-liter quad-turbo V12 engine making a claimed 2,137 horsepower.Plenty of obscure supercars and hypercars end up disappearing before production, and there's a chance that Giamaro Automobili might suffer the same fate. That said, there are some signs that the startup is in a better position to succeed than many of its similarly ambitious rivals. At the Katla's launch, Top Gear took a trip around Giamaro Automobili's factory, and reported that many of its staff had been poached from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani. The company's founder was also reportedly an early investor in Pagani, so the team has plenty of experience of building and delivering hypercars.Which companies previously made a quad-turbo engine?BMWIf Giamaro sticks to its plans, it should deliver its first Katla hypercar sometime in 2027. Until then, it's just Bugatti and Zenvo that can claim to be currently making quad-turbo engines. Both are small-volume companies that make cars for ultra-wealthy clients, but quad-turbo engines haven't always been so exclusive. Between 2016 and 2020, BMW offered a quad-turbo 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesel engine in several models, including in the X5 M50d, X7 M50d, 750d, and M550d xDrive.It was internally called B57D30S0, being part of the B57 family, and it made around 400 horsepower and roughly 560 lb-ft of torque. When it was stuffed under the hood of the M550d xDrive, the result was one one of the fastest diesel cars on the market, with a 0-60 mph time in the mid-four second range. Unfortunately, low demand from buyers and tightening emissions standards saw it discontinued at the start of the decade. For now, BMW remains the only major automaker to have mass-produced a quad-turbo engine, although other big automakers have previously made quad-turbo prototypes.Back in the '90s, Ford's GT90 supercar concept featured a quad-turbo V12 engine, although it was primarily created as an engineering exercise and was never meant to make production. Chrysler's mid-'00s ME Four-Twelve supercar reportedly got much closer to hitting dealerships, and it featured an AMG-derived 6.0-liter V12 with four turbos to boost its output to a claimed 850 horsepower. Unfortunately, financial issues at parent company DaimlerChrysler meant that it ended up getting the ax. Porsche has also reportedly spent years experimenting with quad-turbo setups for the 911, although safety and packaging issues have stopped such an engine from reaching production.
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