1993 Bugatti EB 110
VIN. ZA9AB01E0PCD39034
Engine no. 0051
US$ 500,000 - 700,000
£390,000 - 540,000
3,498cc DOHC Quad-turbocharged V-12 Engine
560 PS (552 BHP) at 8,000rpm
6-speed Manual Transaxle
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Ventilated Disc Brakes
Carbon-fiber monocoque chassis
Aluminum bodywork
*Utterly compelling 'Supercar' story
*Launched at a dinner at the Orangery of the Palais of Versailles
*Partnerships in the manufacture included Aerospatiale, Michelin and Elf
*One of only 84 GT variants constructed. Total production 136
*Tested by Autocar & Motor Magazine, March 1994
*Entered into the International Bugatti Rally, Italy 1994
THE BUGATTI EB110
If ever a limited-production supercar deserved to spawn a long and illustrious lineage of supercars, it was the Bugatti EB110. Produced from 1992 to 1995, the mid-engine coupe was developed by a team with immaculate credentials, and boasted cutting-edge technology, world-beating performance, and an integrity of design and build quality that graced it with a steady temperament to complement blindingly quick acceleration and world-record top speeds.
The Bugatti name first came to be associated with the automobile in 1909, when Ettore Bugatti opened shop in Molsheim (now France, then in German territory). For the next three decades, Automobiles Ettore Bugatti gave the world some of the most noteworthy, beautiful cars ever built. No one who stands next to a Type 41 Royale or 57sc Atlantic will ever forget the visual impact of their unique architectures.
That, however, is a different story — and a different company — from the one that led to the spectacular Bugatti EB100 in today's sale. After Ettore's death in 1947, his company struggled on but in 1952 stopped building street cars. A dabble in aerospace kept the firm alive before it was purchased first by Hispano-Suiza and then by French aircraft supplier Snecma, which in turn created the company Messier-Bugatti in 1977 that produced Bugatti replicas until 1987. Absence from public notice seemed imminent for the once exalted nameplate.
Meanwhile, a group of Italian car industry notables (no doubt fueled by molti tazze di caffé espresso) was dreaming of a sports car that would be built without influence from bean counters or marketing VPs, one that would cause consternation among the eminences at Ferrari and Lamborghini. Anything but pipe-dreamers, this group included former employees of Lamborghini as well as Ferruccio Lamborghini himself, who'd grown tired of retirement after selling his interest in his eponymous company back in 1974. Also set to explore the still unincorporated dreamscape were former Lamborghini head Paolo Stanzani, the "father" of the Miura and Countach, and designer Nuccio Bertone.
All that this brain trust needed was a wellspring of lire, and it came in 1986 from Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who, along with branding expert Jean-Marc Borel, accomplished something that would have been unthinkable at the height of Ettore Bugatti's fame: purchasing the rights to the Bugatti name. Thus was established, in October of 1987, the firm of Bugatti Automobili, S.p.A. — but it would no longer be located on French soil. Bugatti returned to the country of Ettore Bugatti's birth.
Well placed within the Modena region that houses much of Italy's high-performance automotive industry, the new facility at Campogalliano was designed by Artioli's cousin, architect Giampaolo Benedini, whose brief was to build "the Bugatti" of automotive plants. Magnificent it was, and no doubt the great expenditure for the 140,000-square-foot facility contributed to the company's eventual financial ruin.
Ever mindful of the rich heritage attached to the Bugatti badge, the new plant was opened on Ettore's 109th birthday in September, 1990. In the meantime, both Signores Lamborghini and Bertone had pulled back from the car's development, which had continued unabated from 1988 until production. In addition to Stanzani, the new firm enlisted racecar designer and engineer Mauro Forghieri, whose experience with the Diablo's V-12 would emerge with the EB110's 12-cylinder powerplant; Marcello Gandini, who penned the Countach, Miura and Lancia Stratos and who invented the scissor doors adorning the Countach and on the EB110; and ex-Lamborghini test driver Loris Bococchi, a critical component of the EB110's suspension tuning and superb road manners.
A design competition was launched, and of four proposals — from Paolo Martin, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Bertone, and Gandini — the Bertone version was clay modelled. Wind-tunnel testing ensued, but Artioli and Stanzani were not in agreement over the design, and Bertone subsequently said arrivederci. Money tends to talk loudest at such times, and Artioli prevailed by bringing in cousin Benedini once again but this time to finish the car. Now it was time for Stanzani to say arrivederci, but he was immediately replaced by Nicola Materazzi of Ferrari F-40 fame and former Audi Quattro engineer Pavel Rajmis to finish the engineering.
The EB110's launch was an appropriately grand affair in Paris (including dinner at l'Orangerie at Versailles) on September 15, 1991, the 110th anniversary of the birth of Ettore Bugatti. The EB110, so named to honor this date, was an immediate success, and Bugatti, S.p.A. seemed destined to take a place alongside its Italian rivals for years to come.
In fact, it appeared that Bugatti would take the lead when, in May of 1992, two EB110 prototypes were brought to Italy's Nardo test circuit, primarily for homologation tests but also for an assault on production car speed records. The results shocked the sports car world. With Frenchman JP Vittecoq behind the wheel, prototype C7 put down an astonishing set of numbers, including 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 3.46 sec. and a top speed of 342 km/h (212.509 mph), a world record. It would not be the last time an EB110 achieved fastest car in the world. In May of 1993, with Jean Philippe again the pilot, a modified SS (Supersport) prototype raised the bar to 351 km/h while reducing the 0 to 62-mph dash to 3.26 sec.
The first production EB110 (GT39018) emerged on December 1, 1992, destined for a Swiss buyer. A good number of the following cars were meant for factory demonstrators and for dealers, including the car on sale today, 1993 EB110 GT39034, which saw time as one of the press cars for Great Britain and was prominently featured in many publications of the day.
Unfortunately, along with the initial momentum — which included the purchase of an EB110 SS by Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher in 1994 — came a series of financial decisions that might have worked in another time, another place, but not for Bugatti. These included an ill-advised purchase of Lotus, investment in the promising development of a second model, the EB112 four-door coupe (which looks as though it could have been a design study for Porsche's Panamera), and the launch of an always coffer-draining racing program.
A specially lightened, 600-horsepower race version was prepared for Le Mans, 1994, and it qualified 17th and ran in the top ten despite the usual endurance racing maladies. A tire failure put it into the barrier with just one hour left of the twenty-four. Other efforts sprung up here and there, notably by the Monaco Racing Team, which ran the BPR and IMSA. As late as 1996, a Bugatti EB110 SC entered the 24 Hours of Daytona, but the team that included Derek John Hill, son of Phil Hill, and Olivier Grouillard managed only seven hours before retirement.
On the production front, a U.S.-spec EB110 had been developed late in 1994 and was introduced to the public at Concorso Italiano in Monterey. However, money had become scarce around Campogalliano, and ultimately it was a world economy gone sour that ended the Bugatti dream. Although initial plans called for an annual production of 150 cars, after four years Bugatti had managed just 140 EB110s sold — GT, the higher performance Supersport, and racing models — but none had yet to reach an American market that might have helped the firm avoid bankruptcy. In September 1995, Bugatti Automobili, S.p.A. was shuttered for good.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The EB110 was one of the most technologically advanced cars of its day, and its spec sheet reads as contemporary as tomorrow. Not only did it display supercar performance — 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds and a top speed of 212+ mph — its speed was matched by balanced handling, a compliant ride, and a lavish, leather-clad interior.
The aluminum bodywork is draped on a carbon-fiber chassis supplied by Aerospatiale. Suspension is double A-arms and coil springs. The short-stroke all-alloy 3.5-liter V-12 is mounted longitudinally and features five valves per cylinder and four IHI turbochargers in two sizes, and it's fed by bespoke fuel injection. Output ranged depending on tune, but Bugatti's release from that time showed 552 horsepower (560 PS) at 8,000 rpm and 456 lb-ft of torque (618 Nm) at 3,750 rpm to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
Lubrication is dry sump, and curb weight is 3,567 pounds. Running gear consisted of BBS alloy wheels measuring 9x18-inch in front and 12x18 in back, encased by specially built Michelins: 245/40 and 325/30, front and rear.
Chassis 39034 came off the Campogalliano line in 1993 in Bugatti Blu livery and with a gray leather interior. After use as a press car for Great Britain (it featured prominently in magazine road tests of the day), this EB110 was purchased by Nick Lancaster of HR Owen in London, the official importers of the Bugatti to the UK, who drove the car along with 113 other Bugattis of all ages in a five-day rally through Italy to the Campogalliano factory.
It was subsequently sold to a second owner, who used it lightly, and is currently titled in the state of Nevada and is subject to the NHTSA Show or Display statute, which limits on-road use to 2,500 miles per year.
The utterly charismatic EB 110s rarely come on to the open market and few examples reside here in the United States. It is unquestionably one of the most compelling 'Supercar' stories of the last thirty years and chassis 39034 just happens to be one of the most recognizable examples, having been illustrated in such esteemed motoring publications as Autocar & Motor, wearing - as it did - the registration identity 4 EB.
GREENWICH CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE AUCTION - 4TH JUNE 2017
