So Bugatti just unveiled a brand new hypercar inspired by its classic EB 110 supercar from the early 1990s. The EB stands for Ettore Buggati, the company’s founder and the 110 describes his age in 1991.
The Bugatti Centodieci, priced at a whopping $8.8 million, was supposed to be revealed at the Pebble Beach in California on Friday evening. However, the images of the car including its details leaked online a day earlier. This gave every Auto journalist a headstart to actually realise how stupid this car is.
The original EB 110 was a classic hypercar of its time meant to compete with the likes of Mclaren F1. The EB 110 had a body made from Aluminium, carbon and aramid materials which translated to just a mere of 125 kg of the monocoque weight. Unlike modern-day Bugatti’s that weigh more than a mountain.
The EB 110 was a true 90’s car embodying elements from the Lamborghini Countach and Miura courtest of the former Lamborghini designer Marcello Gandini.
The latest Bugatti Centodieci, on the other hand, is a well made, well-designed hypercar crafted to near perfection. However, for an $9 million dollar price tag, it’s just stupid. Here’s why.
Bugatti Centodieci Specs & Why It’s Not Worthy
Bugatti Centodieci is not the most expensive car in the Bugatti’s stable, that award goes to La Voiture Noire which was sold for $18.7 million to an anonymous buyer. The car looked like a batmobile so you can connect the dots and decide for yourself.
Since I am a motorhead so I’ll talk about the engine specs and horsepower first. The Bugatti Centodieci is powered by an 8-liter W16 engine producing 1500PS of power and 1600NM of torque. The Centodieci is able to propel from 0-100 km/h in 2.4 seconds and it accelerates to 200 km/h in 6.1 seconds. The car’s speed is electronically limited to 380 km/h.
Talking about the design, the Bugatti Centodieci somehow takes the box-shaped design of the Chiron and the Veyron before it and turns it into something even worse, at least visually.
The Bugatti Centodieci is a car which is trying to live in two decades at the same time. The car from the front ends looks modern and familiar. It feels like the headlamps of Lamborghini Veneno and Mclaren P1 were combined and placed stretched out sideways on Centodieci.
The rear end represents the 90’s and not the good stuff like the songs from NSYNC and Backstreet Boys but dial-up internet. The rear light is a thick long unit stretched over the rear bumper like a worm.
According to Bugatti’s creative director, Achim Anscheidt, the stretched and hollow light at the front are designed to ensure airflow to better manage engine thermals.
I agree to that but Mclaren P1 is also just made from 5 panels and most importantly it doesn’t look any less appealing. There’s design ingenuity in both cases but the Mclaren P1 doesn’t seem to compromise on the visual appeal.
The side profile is reminiscent of the earlier Bugatti like the Chiron and Veyron.
According to Ansheidt, each shape on the Centodieci has been refined to perfection to offer the optimum aerodynamics and offer a mix of performance and aesthetics.
Furthermore, I agree with this statement, the design of the Centodieci is very functional. The flat radiator grill, the deeply positioned spoiler, the three-section air intake all have been designed to offer maximum airflow.
However, they all come at a cost. The rear end looks so alien to the front that you might be mistaken to think that they don’t belong together. While at the rear end looks like a busy intersection, the front has been kept utterly simply.
Apparently, Ansheidt wanted to take the design elements of the EB 110 and evolve in for the 21st century. Now I am not going to say that he failed because the Centodieci is still a hypercar with outrageous specs and design elements. However, I am sure that EB 110 didn’t need an evolution in the first place.
Bugatti EB 110
The Bugatti EB 110 was launched in 1991 to pay homage to the Italian born French owner of the company Ettore Bugatti. The car was fast and is still fast by today’s standards.
Memories of me playing watching Knight Rider comes to mind whenever I look at EB 110. It’s squarish shaped headlight, neatly laid out bumper reminds me of an era where I didn’t need to guess the shape of the car I am looking at.
The car produced a generous 550 HP from a smaller 3.5-liter W12 engine. The top speed of the car is around 213 MPH, which in the 1990s and even today is just bonkers.
Jay Leno, the famous car collector, and former late-night show host, actually owns a blue-colored EB 110. He has also done a video on the Bugatti EB 110 for his long-running Youtube series ‘Jay Leno’s Garage.’
Fun fact about the EB 110, the car’s windows are really small in size. It is due to the fact that a bigger window wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure at 213 MPH and will crack.
Everyone Is Mad At Bugatti Centodeici
Jason Torchinsky From Jalopnik puts it in the best manner possible:
Also, among those who are offended by the design of the Bugatti Centodeici is the Top Gear series presenter and renowned motorhead Chris harris.
Admittedly it’s taken Winkelmann longer than expected to properly sod-up a Bugatti, but this shambolic EB110 homage makes up for that lost time. Shit box. pic.twitter.com/VT94qj6c2q
— chris harris (@harrismonkey) August 15, 2019
His tweet also generated a barrage of furious and funny response from his followers.
Styling cues from.. pic.twitter.com/DdEKQ4Sany
— Patrick Salmon (@patthefish) August 15, 2019
Does that say “Catastrophic” on the rear end?
— Mike (@Parax) August 15, 2019
Needless to say, car fans aren’t particularly pleased with the Bugatti Centodeici. However, none of it should matter to Bugatti anyway because only 10 of these cars will be made and they’ll be sold to someone who barely drives 50 miles by himself in an entire year.
