The story of Bugatti’s record-breaking, quad-turbo EB110

It’s fair to say Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli’s ambition was worthy of the Bugatti name when he revived the company from its near 25-year slumber in 1987. So confident was he of the reborn brand’s imminent success that one of his first acts as Chairman was to commission a vast new factory in Modena, Italy – a stone’s throw from arch-rivals Lamborghini and Ferrari – rather than Bugatti’s original home of Molsheim, France. 

It’s probably also fair to say his first and only production car had a difficult upbringing. Artioli was reportedly unimpressed by Marcello Gandini’s first design, and insisted on a series of revisions. Gandini’s second attempt also failed to hit the mark, and with Gandini refusing to make further changes, the two parted company. Gianpaolo Benedini, however, was more obliging, and Artioli’s demands won through. 

A similar fate awaited Technical Director Paolo Stanzani. He favoured an aluminium honeycomb chassis, a choice in conflict with Artioli’s wishes that was soon proven during prototype testing when the drivers reported poor handling. Investigation revealed that the chassis deformed over time, and Stanzani was replaced by Nicola Materazzi who commissioned a lightweight yet stiff carbon-fibre chassis from Aerospatiale, revised the all-wheel-drive system’s torque distribution, and addressed the engine’s reliability issues. 

Credit: Drive Experience via Newspress

On 15th September 1991, exactly 110 years to the day after Ettore Bugatti’s birth, the EB110 GT was unveiled to the world, bearing the initials of its founding father. It was followed just six months later by the EB110 Super Sport which used carbon-fibre body panels to achieve a 150kg weight reduction, while the 3.5-litre quad-turbocharged 60-valve V12 was tweaked to develop 603hp (up from the GT’s 553hp) and 650Nm of torque. 

The Bugatti went on to set four world records – hardly surprising with a 0-60mph time of just 3.14 seconds – and attracted custom from the likes of Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, although his yellow example met a rather ignominious end when he crashed it into a truck. 

It was the end, too, for Artioli’s ambitions. The EB110’s long gestation period meant it had arrived on the world’s stage at the same time as a global recession, somewhat reducing the appeal of a supercar costing north of $350,000, while his purchase of Lotus over-extended his position. 

By the time Bugatti declared bankruptcy in 1995, just 139 EB110s had been built. Their place in the history books has been fortified by the passage of time, and when a rare EB110 Super Sport appeared at a Monterey auction last year, it sold for a cool $2.7 million. A suitably Bugatti-sized price tag Artioli and Ettore would both be proud of. 

What do you think about the EB110? Have you been fortunate enough to see one in the flesh? Let us know in the comments.