The new Bugatti EB110 Design in Bugatti Center

Bugatti succeeded in producing a superlative sports car in 1991 with the EB110. Developed and created by Bugatti enthusiast Romano Artioli, the EB110 was in a league of its own – an epoch-making development that was decades ahead of the competition. It was created from scratch, without a predecessor model. Everything was new – such as the 3.5-litre V12 engine with four turbochargers. Five valves per cylinder ensured a fast charge cycle. For the first time in a super sports car, an all-wheel drive system was used was permanently able to deliver power from 560 hp to 611 hp. The EB110 manages the sprint from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds, with a top speed of 351 km/h. This was a world record for a series-production car – and a speed range that very few vehicles achieve even today.

Until 1995, the super sports model was crafted by hand in Campogalliano, Italy, not in France. This was for practical reasons: other super sports car brands such as DeTomaso, Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini are located nearby, so qualified personnel was available for the company to hire. But the ambitious project failed, not least because of the deteriorating economic situation. “The EB110 is a true super sports car that joins an extensive lineage of extraordinary Bugatti ancestors – an epoch-making development”, says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. With only 128 series-produced vehicles and a starting price of 450 million Italian lire and 550 million Italian lire, the EB110 GT and the EB110 SS were reserved for a very exclusive clientele.