With all 10 units of the Bugatti Centodieci already sold at a price tag of USD 8.9 million, we take a look at what makes this supercar the marquee’s most powerful and sought-after model as yet.
This year marks 110th anniversary of Bugatti and the marque showed up in full force at the recently held Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. Besides many pre-war models from private owners, Bugatti put up a unique exhibit at its Le Domaine Bugatti with cars like Chiron, the classic EB110 and the limited edition Centodieci. Priced at USD 8.9 million, all 10 Centodieci’s offered have already been sold.
Centodieci is a tribute to the 1991 mid-engine EB110 supercar, which was released when the company was under the ownership of Romano Artioli. The EB110 was presented on the 110th birthday of Ettore Bugatti, and so was named EB110. “With the Centodieci, we pay homage to the EB110 super sports car which was built in the 1990s and is very much a part of our tradition-steeped history,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. “With the EB110, Bugatti catapulted itself to the top of the automotive world once again after 1956 with a new model. We are proud of our long Bugatti history, of which the EB110 is very much a part. That’s why we’re celebrating a reinterpretation of this extraordinary vehicle with the Centodieci – Italian for 110,” said Stephan Winkelmann.
The design of the special-edition Bugatti Centodieci takes many cues from the EB110. “The challenge was not to allow oneself to be captivated too much by the design of the historic vehicle and work solely in retrospect, but instead to create a modern interpretation of the shape and technology of that time,” says Achim Anscheidt, Head Designer at Bugatti. The resulting design is sporty yet exudes a timeless elegance.
“We faced a number of technical challenges in terms of the development and design of the Centodieci,” says Achim Anscheidt. “Transporting this classic look into the new millennium without copying it was technically complex, to say the least. We had to create a new way of combining the complex aerothermal requirements of the underlying Chiron technology with a completely different aesthetic appearance.”
The Centodieci features the iconic 8.0-litre W16 engine with 1,176 kW/1,600 hp at 7,000 rpm. An additional air inlet regulates the temperature of the performance-enhanced engine. The Centodieci sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in only 2.4 seconds, to 200 km/h in 6.1 seconds and to 300 km/h in just 3.1 seconds. However, the top speed is electronically cut off at 380 km/h. The Centodieci saves 20kg of unladen weight compared to Chiron. A lightweight windscreen wiper and carbon stabilisers are used to achieve a power-to-weight ratio of just 1.13 kilograms per horsepower.
In contrast to the La Voiture Noire that launched in March this year, the Centodieci is finished in white, a la yin and yang – two opposite yet related forces. It can though be painted in any colour of the customer’s choice. The 10 vehicles will be handcrafted at Bugatti’s headquarters in Molsheim, France.