Limited-run 2020 Bugatti Centodieci pays homage to EB110

Bugatti has unveiled yet another ultra exclusive hyper car at Pebble Beach. But this time around it’s not just another limited production model, the new Bugatti Centodieci – Italian for 110 – is built to celebrate the French company’s 110 years since its founding. And to do that the designers are bringing back a classic design – the iconic Bugatti EB110 from the 90s, which was built for its Italian founder Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday in 1991.

The Centodieci is essentially a rebodied Chiron that pays homage to the EB110. Limited to just 10 examples, the Centodieci will change hands for a cool €8 million a pop.

“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,” says 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,” says Stephan Winkelmann.

The EB110 was built in Campogalliano, Italy, but from the very outset it never denied its French influences. Former owner Romano Artioli opened the factory on Ettore Bugatti’s 109th birthday – 15 September 1990. Artioli made a deliberate choice in opting for Campogalliano, a small town in Emilia Romagna. The location had a key advantage in the 1990s: it was in the catchment area of several Italian sports car brands, so Artioli was easily able to recruit experienced employees for his project. Artioli presented the super sports car EB 110 to the public on Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday – hence the type designation: EB for Ettore Bugatti, 110 for his 110th birthday.

Instead of the V12 found in the EB110, the Centodieci features the iconic 8.0-litre W16 engine with 1,176 kW/1,600 hp at 7,000 rpm. The Centodieci sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds, to 200 km/h in 6.1 seconds and to 300 km/h in 13.1 seconds; the top speed is electronically cut off at 380 km/h.

“It’s not just the top speed that makes a hyper sports car, however. With the Centodieci, we once again demonstrate that design, quality and performance are just as important,” says Stephan Winkelmann.

Compared to the Chiron, the Centodieci saves 20 kilograms of unladen weight, while the Chiron Sport saves 2 kilograms. Among other things, a lightweight windscreen wiper and stabilisers made of carbon are used, as well as filigree exterior mirrors. This enables a sensational power-to-weight ratio of just 1.13 kilograms per horsepower. With a downforce of over 90 kilograms, the Centodieci offers a level of lateral acceleration similar to that of the Divo.

Naturally, customers can have their Centodieci painted in the Bugatti colour of their choice. The hyper car will be handcrafted in Molsheim, France. After its short period in Italy, Bugatti has now been back at its old headquarters in Molsheim, France, for almost 20 years. This is where Ettore Bugatti produced the very first vehicles that bore his name at the end of 1909.