Bugatti puts so much care into its gauge clusters they're literally made like they're a Rolex
Published on Feb 21, 2026 at 10:18 PM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Feb 19, 2026 at 9:45 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
The new Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar is packed with extreme engineering.
But the most intricate part of the car isn’t the V16 engine.
It isn’t the hybrid system either.
It’s the gauge cluster sitting behind the steering wheel.
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The Tourbillon gauge cluster built like a Swiss watch
The Tourbillon doesn’t use a conventional digital screen cluster.
Instead, the manufacturer built a fully mechanical centerpiece that looks and behaves like a high-end Swiss watch.
The name itself is a clue.
A ‘tourbillon’, French for ‘whirlwind’, is a watchmaking part dating back to 1801, designed to improve accuracy by constantly rotating part of the movement.
It’s considered a mark of serious horology – the kind of thing you’d expect in a Rolex-tier timepiece, not a hypercar dashboard.
To make it happen, Bugatti partnered with Swiss watch specialist Concepto.
The result is a gauge cluster made from more than 650 individual components.
Tiny gears mesh together.
Rubies are used as bearings, just like in traditional mechanical watches.
And yet, this isn’t just a wristwatch scaled up.
Because it’s built for a car, the watchmakers had to integrate LEDs and modern electronics into the mechanism.
They also had to rethink their tools entirely.
A dashboard cluster is far larger than a watch movement, so techniques designed for millimeter-scale parts had to be adapted to something you can actually see from the driver’s seat.
Every surface is finished to the standards of both haute horology and ultra-luxury automotive design.
Buyers lucky enough to secure one of the 250 build slots can even choose decorative engine-turned finishes, a nod to pre-war Bugattis.
The entire assembly sits behind a fixed-hub steering wheel, so the mechanical sculpture stays perfectly framed while you drive.
In a world of digital screens, it feels almost defiant.
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It fits a bigger philosophy at Bugatti
That defiance isn’t accidental.
Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac has been clear that the company isn’t interested in doing what’s easy.
The Tourbillon could have leaned heavily on the all-electric Rimac Nevera platform.
Instead, the manufacturer developed an entirely new naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16, paired with a plug-in hybrid system.
It’s complicated.
It’s expensive.
It’s unnecessary in the best possible way.
The gauge cluster follows the same logic.
A digital display would have been lighter, cheaper, and simpler – but it wouldn’t have meant anything.
The mechanical cluster is a statement.
It says that even in an era of software updates and touchscreens, Bugatti still believes in gears, metal, and visible craftsmanship.
And for a multi-million-dollar hypercar limited to just 250 examples, that might be exactly the point.
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With roles at TEXT Journal, Bowen Street Press, Onya Magazine, and Swine Magazine on her CV, Molly joined Supercar Blondie in June 2025 as a Junior Content Writer. Having experience across copyediting, proofreading, reference checking, and production, she brings accuracy, clarity, and audience focus to her stories spanning automotive, tech, and lifestyle news.
