Exceptional design and vast power have been the hallmark features of Bugatti vehicles for around 110 years. The French manufacturer of hyper sports cars now consistently pursues this path further with the new special-edition Centodieci. “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.
There are many areas in which the new special-edition Bugatti Centodieci echoes the former super sports car of the 1990s. “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. Even sportier and more extreme than the Bugatti Chiron1 and Divo hyper sports cars, yet elegant and timeless like the La Voiture Noire, it is a one-of-a-kind Bugatti for the enthusiast. “We faced a number of technical challenges in terms of the development and design of the Centodieci,” says Achim Anscheidt. The EB110 is a very flat, wedge-shaped and graphically quasi two-dimensional super sports car of the late 1980s.
“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 flat, horseshoe-shaped radiator at the front reveals its depth only from the side view, with the newly developed, deep-seated front spoiler and the three-section air intakes providing a perfect match. The front of the Centodieci drops very low. The iconic Bugatti horseshoe has been reduced accordingly, while the Bugatti logo Macaron sits on the hood, which is interrupted at the centre by a black element. “This allowed us to rekindle memories of EB110,” says Anscheidt.
The front is subordinated to the generally low geometry of the vehicle, despite its original, predominant cooling surface. The newly developed, complex and very narrow headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights provide the perfect match,” says Achim Anscheidt. “We incorporated the wedge-shaped design in the development process but we took it in a new direction,” says the designer. The otherwise dominant Bugatti line, the C line on the B pillar, gives way to a new design Significantly smaller than the Chiron1, five round air inserts – positioned in the form of a diamond – ensure sufficient air intake for the iconic 16-cylinder engine. Instead of the graphic two-dimensional rear of the EB110 with its two pill-shaped tail lights, the Centodieci relies on a wide air outlet opening for more efficient engine thermals, bringing to life the flying tail light elements in graphic kinship with the EB110.
