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BUGATTI

The 1930s French Ferrari

Bugatti_Type_35
Bugatti Type 35.

If there is a legendary brand in France, it is Bugatti, the pre-war "Ferrari". Noblest high-tech engines, passionate aesthetic gems, feasts for the eyes as much for style as under the hood, unparalleled performance and legendary sporting achievements, with overwhelming supremacy and which prove the validity of the solutions adopted. Unlike the machines created by the Commendatore, Bugatti stands out for its diversified production and French luxury in the best vein. Undoubtedly, Bugatti was the most prestigious team of the Roaring Twenties, offering, far from the big series, real miracles, from the light Type 35, victorious without sharing to the gigantic and inaccessible Royale, rolling palace intended for Kings and Emperors, relegating the Maybach, Daimler and other Rolls-Royces in the rank of people's cars. In Molsheim, under the direction of the “Boss”, the requirement that the best road racers and the best thoroughbreds come out of his workshops is fulfilled year after year. These cars will marry the rigor of German technology (We are in Alsace), the sense of perfect aesthetics, "Florentine" of the artist Ettore and his son Jean, and the sober refinement and the French Aristocratic panache.

Bugatti’s great history begins in 1881, with the birth of Ettore Arco Isodoro Bugatti in Milan. From the start, he was immersed in a creative and meticulous environment. His father is a renowned cabinetmaker, painter and architect. His older brother, Rembrandt, would become a great animal sculptor. It is only natural that his path first takes him to the city's School of Fine Arts. But then he felt more drawn to mechanical creativity, and like one of his references, Leonardo da Vinci, he prided himself on wanting to combine art and technique. A concept that will be very popular in the 1920s, through movements such as the Bauhaus and the Werkbund in Germany or the new spirit in France, which seek to reconcile art and functionality, and better, to try to make one. fusion. Suddenly, and without any initial engineering training, he set out to design unusually beautiful engines. Art objects that are so many mechanical sculptures.

In 1901, he was 19 years old, and presented an automobile at the exhibition in his hometown, his first, because he liked this pioneer estate, which earned him a medal. Noticed well, he had no trouble getting hired by Prinetti & Stucchi, then moved to Germany with De dietrich. He then joined forces with Mathis, the Strasbourg dealer of De Dietrich, Fiat and Panhard Levassor, for whom he created his first car, the Hermès-simplex (1905), which was produced in abundance until 1913 on the Mercedes chains in Grafenstaden. In 1907, he left for Deutz, and this time designed large sedans by creating engines ranging from 5 to 10 liters of displacement for Gustav Langen in Cologne. He also designed a small sports car, equipped with a 1.3-liter 4-cylinder, which was retrospectively referred to as the basis for the first real Bugatti, with which he would race in a few events. Ettore did not disdain concretely experimenting with his models and undoubtedly liked the exhilaration of speed.

In 1909, while he would continue to advise Deutz technically for two more years, he bought the Château de Molsheim, near Strasbourg and had a workshop set up there, firmly determined to market his own models. Its first Bugattis are therefore modest and light. Aerodynamic and equipped from the start with a horseshoe grille. In 1909, he developed the Type 10, directly derived from his prototype developed at Deutz, which had some success. But for lack of sufficient technical means to embark on large series, he can only initially accept a collaboration with Armand Peugeot, in Sochaux, not far from there, for whom he is developing the new little "baby", tiny. four-cylinder 855cc in 1912.

The much faster Type 12 and Type 13 have an overhead camshaft, and for the latter, its 5-liter 4-cylinder has 16 valves. She won the 1921 Italian GP, ​​and won the name "Brescia". The same year he developed the first Bugatti with an 8-cylinder in-line, the Type 30. Some of these Type 30s were lightened and rearranged in a more aerodynamic way, sporting an exaggerated tapered body, earning them the nickname of "torpedo. ", but will fail to gain the upper hand, despite an honorable classification at the Strasbourg Grand Prix. In 1923, Type 32s received a strange full shell in the profile of airplane garlic. This first "pontoon" bodywork earned them the nickname "Tank". Their speed was guaranteed by their rate of penetration into the air, which wasted their substantial weight. But, in 1925, the coveted and prolific Type 35 came out:

The legendary Type 35 marks a turning point in the brand's production. It is the first to be victorious at such a level, propelling Bugatti to the top of the motorsport hierarchy, and the first whose track prowess fully reflects on the sale. Her prize list opened at the Lyon circuit in July 1924, (ACF Grand Prix) and in the space of two years she dominated Sport Auto in France. Then it is the international consecration: One after the other, all the great classics fall. Bugatti will accumulate before the war nearly 2000 victories, including 1800 between 1925 and 1927. It comes out in many variants and improved versions: Types 36, 39 and 51, the last (1931) has a Compressor and 2 ACT, and develops 187 hp, while the 35 prototype without supercharging was satisfied with 90 hp.

To broaden his range, he designed more affordable sports cars, equipped with 4-cylinders, the Types 37 and 40. They are satisfied with a small displacement, but have a compressor which boost their performance. Among the cars based on the 35B came out in 1928 the Type 43, available in racing and road versions. The latter are barely civilized: They gain bumpers and a single perforated aluminum spare wheel, the famous branch rims which immediately signify belonging to the great Molsheim family. After the Type 40, other sport touring models were studied, the Type 44, 3-liter and the Type 46, 5.3-liter. The latter is one of the few sedans sold with the famous horseshoe radiator. But Ettore doing nothing trivial, he began manufacturing in 1926 his most gigantic production, the very elitist Royale, or type 41.

This type 41 was declined in 6 or 7 rolling frames, without great certainty. It must be said that their purchase price was pushing back even the crowned heads for which it was intended. Compared to the frail Type 35, the 41 plays in the cetacean register: A hood over 2 meters long, a wheelbase of 4.30 meters ... extraordinary dimensions combined with a mechanical perfectionism that bordered on utopia : Ettore wanted to break the pawn in Rolls-Royce, which he undoubtedly did. The degree of refinement of the padded interior of the famous Napoleon coupé-chauffeur is more akin to very high-standard furnishings -Royal- in a word. And to take the three hundred tons of the machine, a specially designed 12-liter V8 giving 250hp at ... 1000 rpm. and 300 to 3000 rpm, its maximum speed. This extravagant engine block allowed it to reach 190 km / h .... in 1926. Its prodigious accelerations still surprise today those who take the wheel of "Oldies" famous as the Duesenberg SJ. its monumental couple was worth to him to bequeath this engine to locomotives. The contract with the SNCF went so far as to "dress" the power cars in the style of "tanks" (Bugatti 32).

In 1927, a new Grand Touring Bugatti was born, the Type 49, which had a single ACT inline 8-cylinder derived from that of the Type 35B. With compressor, it works wonders, but its style ages. Assisted by his eldest son Jean, Ettore developed the Type 50, the first Bugatti equipped with 2 overhead camshafts, according to the process adopted by the excellent racing Miller he had just acquired. The over-profiled Touring version benefits from Jean's styling work. A very elegant and modern coach body whose lines of force start from the bonnet to form an arabesque with the most beautiful effect on the side. The bright colors are quite appreciated by the customers, however this one will demand more sober and more modern dressings still, contrasting with the flashy productions of the other luxury brands. The engine, in the pushed version, was quickly found on the type 51 Grand Prix racing car, direct heir to the 35 line. It gave birth to a wiser car, the type 55, with an engine deflated at 130hp. However, it is still a powerful GT.

In 1932 a prototype equipped with the engine of the 50, and cubing 4.9 liters is pushed with compressor to 300hp. It is a two-seater of great price equipped with an all-wheel drive. The four wheels must give it perfect traction. But this car turned out to be complex and too expensive to produce, and Ettore gave up on it. On the other hand, Jean is working on the future Bugatti GT. It will give birth to a myth: The Type 57 becomes in 1935, the best-selling Bugatti by far. In 1939, it came to precede even the type 35-derived road cars. The Bugatti 57 had a brand new 3-liter in-line 8-cylinder, 2 ACT, initially developing around 175 hp, which rose to 190 with a compressor. (the 57C of 1938). With supercharging, it becomes 57S, before the last of these GTs leaves the factory, the lowered SC developing 200 to 210 hp. These will be the fastest and most stylistically successful, with Jean's pencil becoming more inspired than ever. With the "concept car" before the letter Aérolithe unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1938. Three "Atlantic" derived from this singular trim (a riveted ridge runs along the body), will emerge. They are now the object of all attention.

While the Type 57 was available in more than 700 units, we are talking about a total of 830 until 1939, a racing version pushed to 250 hp was born and still won victories including the GP of France in 1936 and the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1937. These are "tanks" type 57G which will sign this last performance. But it is the type 59 which continues the lineage of the 35, being available in three displacements, 2.8, 2.9 and 3.3 liters. Its production ceases in 1939. That same year, it is a very hard blow for Ettore who loses his son, Jean, broke behind the wheel of a 57G in full action on the Le Mans circuit. We are then in August 1939, the factory is now in danger of going under the German boot. It will be confiscated in 1940 and Ettore takes refuge in Paris, and studies some projects. Upon liberation, the factory was more or less dismantled and under sequestration. He starts a lawsuit in order to get her back. But this weakened his strength and the "boss" died in 1947 without being able to benefit from the restarting of the factory. Molsheim is in mourning.

His youngest son, Roland Bugatti, tried to rekindle the flame in 1951, which proved to be almost impossible after past events. He took advantage of some studies from his father but only managed to produce the last 57 decked out in modern bodywork, the Type 101, from which were derived convertibles and a coupe. About 6 frames leave the factory. Three projects are tested and buried: A formula 1, the type 251, a 4-cylinder body in a sport container, the 252, and a road with a V12 engine, the 451. If the 101 produced, find a taker, the last "dressed" in 1956, an ultimate Bugatti 101 was bodied by Virgil Exner (head of Design Chrysler) in 1965 at Ghia, in a very particular style. The brand was officially bought in 1963 by the Hispano-messier group. She will stay there for a long - very long time.

Since then, if some "replicators" have tried to ape certain myths of the brand, daring for example to deck out a ladybug chassis with a pseudo-type 35 body, those who have a certain merit are not legion: A name is however to remember, the French Xavier De la Chapelle, who already produced in the 80s miniature replicas among others of Bugatti, in fact cars for children with electric motor, also offered expensive replicas but of a rigor and a unfailing loyalty, including in its catalog, the 57Atalante or the 55, and a "real" 35 Grand Prix.

The 1980s were marked by the aftermath of the oil shocks and saw the difficult rebirth of prestigious GT brands. A supercar was thus born under the rule of an industrial group led by the Monegasque Gildo Pallanca pastor, who assembled a technical team in Modena of the level of those deployed by Ferrari or Lamborghini in order to produce, after having bought the name and the logo of the famous Alsatian firm, the ultimate GT. This was the EB 110, EB for Ettore Bugatti, with the most powerful engine available, boosted by four turbos and permanent all-wheel drive. The heavy mid-engined berlinetta might have the best performance in the world, but its style was artificially linked to the distinctive design of its illustrious ancestors.

Bugatti EB 110, supercar signing a controversial return of the myth to world production, in 1991.

Semi-unsuccessful, the Italo-Monaco-French firm ceded the use of its prestigious surname to a powerful German industrial consortium, the very "popular" Volkswagen, eager, in the group strategy set up by Dr. Piëch, to appropriate prestige brands. After Rolls-Royce, we were looking for an exceptional GT pearl with a rich and famous past, the candidate from Molsheim seemed wonderfully placed. But the approach was meant to be less "opportunistic", more "deep" in its desire to revive Bugatti. New factory in Molsheim, at the "Patron" castle, new GTs designed by the very inspired Giugiaro, whose finesse and sensitivity of line were to pay tribute to the talent of Jean Bugatti. Indeed, in 1998, the concept car EB 218, monumental coupe, then a sedan with an overpowered front engine, from which a small production was drawn, and finally technology showcases, the Veyron and Chiron, named after two famous pilots of the House. It is finally a Veyron which received the blank check from the management for production on the Molsheim site. If its stylistic relationship is more obvious, its arguments are striking. Without question, the 2003 Veyron is on its way to becoming the most powerful and fastest road car ever produced.

Models

  • Type 13 Brescia -Type 30
  • Type 32
  • Type 35B Grand Prix
  • Type 39 Grand Prix
  • Type 40
  • Type 41 Royale
  • Type 44
  • Type 50T Surprofilé
  • Type 51 Grand Prix
  • Type 55 Tourer
  • Type 57sc Coach Atalante
  • Type 57 SC Coach Ventoux
  • Type 57s Roadster Corsica
  • Type 57SC Coach Atlantic
  • Type 101
  • EB 110
  • EB 112
  • EB 16/4 Veyron

Bugatti 37 GP (1924)


The most beautiful toy ever created at Molsheim was also a systematically victorious aerodynamic thoroughbred between 1924 and 1932.

Spider 2 seats.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 16 valves 2.2 Liters, 1 ACT, 1 compressor, 135 hp DIN @ 5300RPM.
0-100 Km/h: sec. 13 sec.; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 193 Km/h.
750 Kgs.
Length: 3685 mm; Width: mm; Height: mm; Wheelbase: 2400 mm
390
12,000 Frs.
Beautiful yet very efficient since it won everything that existed in the field of motor racing and imposed its domination on competition and motorsport of the 20s and 30s, it did not rely on pure power like the Bentleys and Mercedes Compressor but on the best possible weight-power compromise, and general qualities that made it the undisputed queen of its category. Those who succeed him will be less fortunate, from type 39 to type 51. They will not be unworthy either.

Bugatti 41 Royale (1926)




Limousine/Sedan/Coach/Cabriolet 4 seats
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 24 valves 12 Liters, 1 ACT, 300 hp DIN @ 3000RPM.
0-100 Km/h: sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 190 Km/h.
3175 Kgs.
Length: 5969 mm; Width: 2000 mm; Height: 1670 mm; Wheelbase: 4318 mm
between 6 and 7.
Around 50,000,000 Frs.
The most sumptuous and exclusive monument in automotive history was born in Molsheim in 1926. Ettore had the very precise idea of ​​breaking the pawn at Rolls-Royce on the old continent and Duesenberg on the new world. This could only be done around an exceptional engine, on an exceptional chassis, and it was this assumed pachyderm, but fantastically sober and balanced for extraordinary dimensions. The center of the "Royale", therefore, was its gargantuan V8, but of an absolute silence of operation, of which Ettore caressed the project from 1913.

The first copy was in fact a prototype with body partially borrowed from a Packard torpedo of 1926, and equipped with a 14.7 liter block. this engine was to develop around 300hp. The cost of its design will be partially amortized by its adoption on SNCF railcars... The "series" engine will be a 12.7-liter block, the distribution being served by the 120 kg steel crankshaft. Total power, never measured, was estimated at 275 hp. As a result, this palace could cross roads at 190 km / h, which was unlikely in 1926...

In terms of style, no rule a priori. Several coachbuilders have tried it, including Ettore's own son, Jean Bugatti. Park Ward (who signed the prestige Bentleys), Kellner, Weinberger or Binder. We especially remember the general balance of these models, the length of the hood, the huge wheels with modern design. The elephant-shaped mascot was signed by Rembrand Bugatti, Ettore's brother. Above: Among the 6 bodies (not counting the transformations) the "Coupe de Ville" (chauffeur-driven coupe) was one of the most balanced.

The mystery hovers around this myth. How many real copies, on what date ... The frames have sometimes been sprinkled three times. There was certainly a Kellner convertible, owned by the (extremely wealthy) German doctor AJ Fuchs, a Kellner coach, belonging to the Bugatti family, a 6-seater Park Ward limousine, for the ex-colonel of the Indian army, CW Foster, become a billionaire in the food industry, the coupe-chauffeur of the couturier Armand Esders... No crowned head - for which he had been designed - had acquired one, he was ultimately a particularly ostentatious revealer of the social rise of the Roaring Twenties.

Bugatti 50 T Surporofilé (1932)




Type: Coach 2 + 2 places.
Layout: Front engine - rear transmission.
Engine: 8 cylinders in line, 16 valves 5 Liters, 2 ACT, compressor, 150 hp. DIN @ 4500 RPM. and N/M
Performances: 0-100 Km/h: sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 192 Km/h.
Weight: 1250 Kgs.
Dimensions: Length: mm; Width: mm; Height: mm; Wheelbase: 3100 mm
This model existed in 1930 (Bugatti 50) with a compressed 8-cylinder delivering 200 hp. It was one of the most successful "GT" of its time before the legendary 57. The "overprofile" was only a variation of the "House" bodywork of the coach chassis. Its aerodynamics were unprecedented, far ahead of its time, and gave it a new and remarkable aesthetic appearance, often repeated later. The beautiful 50T coupé bodied at Molsheim offered this aerodynamic concept from the excellent designer-engineer Jean Bugatti. Undoubtedly this model made a lot for the notoriety of the firm.

Bugatti 57 SC Atalante (1936)


Bugatti 57sc (lowered compressor chassis) Atalante coupe

Coach 2 seats.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 3 Liter valves, 1 ACT, 1 compressor, 200/250 DIN hp @ 5200 rpm.
0-100 Km / h: 10 sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 185 Km / h.
965 Kgs.
Length: 4039 mm; Width: 1700 mm; Height: 1380 mm; Wheelbase: 2985 mm
between 750 and 830.
Summum of the "GT" in the sense that it could have in 1933-39, the type 37 were the most declined by the French coachbuilders of the prestigious sports chassis. They share this glory with the Delahaye 135. The latter were however less effective. It was intended in 1932 to take over from the Type 49, and was equipped with a brand new 3.3L 2 ACT V8 which was to prove itself on the Type 59 Grand Prix. It gives these cars equipped with a relatively traditional chassis first-rate performance, with and without a compressor. The outstanding stylist that was Jean Bugatti signed with his father the most beautiful bodywork, far from the flamboyant pompous of the usual Parisian coachbuilders. There are no less than 6 different bodies, ranging from the profiled Ventoux coupe, the Stelvio convertible, the Corsica roadster, and the Atalante and above all Atlantic coupes, models of the genre, with a modernism that still seduces designers around the world.

The coach Atalante presented here is one of the most famous. Immediately recognizable by its cramped roof pavilion surmounted by a removable canvas hood, which made it an avant-garde targa coupe, the Atalante exhibited in addition to its perfectly balanced style a side volute painted in a fairly thorough Art Deco style. The Atalante has often been copied by more or less happy replicators of Bugatti, but its best and most worthy recent recreation was done in the workshops of Xavier De La Chapelle.

Bugatti 57 Coach Ventoux (1935)


Bugatti 57 profiled designed by Jean Bugatti

Coach 2 + 2 places.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 3 Liter valves, 1 ACT, 1 compressor, 200 hp DIN @ 5200 RPM.
0-100 Km/h: 12 sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 150 Km/h.
1115 Kgs.
Length: 4039 mm; Width: 1700 mm; Height: 1380 mm; Wheelbase: 2985 mm
Among the numerous factory bodies of the Bugatti, namely the Galibier sedan, the Corsica roadster, the Stelvio convertible, and the Atalante and Atlantic coupes, is one of the bestsellers, designed by Jean Bugatti who took up the excellent profiling characteristic of the 50T, the Ventoux coach, with two rear seats (for children). Under distinctions existed depending on whether we were dealing in this range with short or long chassis, lowered or not (type S) and possibly provided with a compressor (Type C), or all three, tokens of obvious sportiness.

Bugatti 57S Corsica Roasdter (1936)


Obviously one of the most desirable Bugattis, it remains a gem within the range.

2-seater roadster.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 3.3 Liter valves, 2 ACT, 1 compressor, 250 hp DIN @ 5200 RPM.
0-100 Km / h: 11 sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 170 Km / h.
1105 Kgs.
Length: 4039 mm; Width: 1700 mm; Height: 1380 mm; Wheelbase: 2985 mm
A real pearl because the subject of choice for bodybuilders, the Corsica roadster was mostly available in a lowered chassis, and often also with a compressor. It remains particularly sought after by collectors.

Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic (1938)


Taken from the Aérolithe concept car, the Atlantic.

Coach 2 + 2 places.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 3 Liter valves, 1 ACT, 1 compressor, 200/250 DIN hp @ 5200 rpm.
0-100 Km / h: 10 sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 185 Km / h.
965 Kgs.
Length: 4039 mm; Width: 1700 mm; Height: 1380 mm; Wheelbase: 2985 mm
between 750 and 830.

Summum of the "GT" in the sense that it could have in 1933-39, the type 37 were the most declined by the French coachbuilders of the prestigious sports chassis. They share this glory with the Delahaye 135. The latter were however less effective. It was intended in 1932 to take over from the Type 49, and was equipped with a brand new 3.3L 2 ACT V8 which was to prove itself on the Type 59 Grand Prix. It gives these cars equipped with a relatively traditional chassis first-rate performance, with and without a compressor.

The outstanding stylist that was Jean Bugatti signed with his father the most beautiful bodywork, far from the flamboyant pompous of the usual Parisian coachbuilders. There are no less than 6 different bodies, ranging from the profiled Ventoux coupe, the Stelvio convertible, the Corsica roadster, and the Atalante and above all Atlantic coupes, models of the genre, with a modernism that still seduces designers around the world.

The Atlantic presented here is one of the most legendary Bugattis, and the most cited and photographed, along with the Royale, the 55 Tourer and the 35B of Grand Prix. It was initially derived from a "concept car" as revolutionary as the Dubonnet Xenia Contemporaine was in terms of aerodynamics and style. The latter's piece of bravery was unmistakably the riveted ridge running from the hood to the tip of its tapered stern, giving it a unique character. Only three copies came out with this bodywork, they are priceless works of art, well beyond the qualifier of automobile, that no insurer would take the risk of taking under his wing.

Bugatti EB101 (1951)


This 101 with pontoon body was just a modern reinterpretation of the 57.

2 + 2 seater convertible.
Front engine - rear transmission.
8 cylinders in line, 16 soup. 3.3 L., 2 Weber 4-barrel carbs, 1 ACT, 1 compressor, 190 / 250hp @ 5200 RPM.
0-100 Km / h: 10 sec. ; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 180 Km/h
1700 Kgs.
Length: 4220 mm; Width: 1730 mm; Height: 1300 mm; Wheelbase: 3300 mm


The legendary brand's last standstill, the one operated by Rolland Bugatti, Ettore's second son after the death of his father in 1947. Jean Bugatti had died in 1939 in an accident. With the capital raised by the brand by producing parts for the French aeronautics, Rolland launches projects, such as the Bugatti 252, a 1.5L 4-cylinder racing tray, a Formula 1, the 251 and a 2 + 2 roadster. which should have taken over from the 57, the 451. The latter had a tempting 4.5L V12 in the brand's great tradition. But these three projects, which result in prototypes, do not reach the stage of production.

Only convertibles built on long chassis 57 chassis that remained in a corner of the Molsheim workshops will be produced, with a new pontoon bodywork up to date. These 101s had some improvements, such as Weber carburetion, chain distribution, Cotal five-speed gearbox. They were a lot heavier than their pre-war ancestors, without the expected engine upgrades. Thus, only six will find a taker, one of which will not be issued until 1965, because it was completed according to the wishes of its owner, on a study by Virgil Exner, at Ghia.

Bugatti EB110 (1992)


The EB 110 signed by Gandini seems to be artificially linked to the past. It is above all the most powerful GT in the world..

Berlinette 2 seats.
Rear mid-engine - all-wheel drive.
12 cylinders in V, 60 valves 3.5 Liters, 2 ACT, 4 turbos, 560 hp DIN @ 8000 RPM. and 809 N / M @ 3700 RPM.
0-100 Km / h: 3.46 sec. ; 1000 D.A .: 21.3 sec. ; Max speed: 342 Km/h.
1620 Kgs.
Length: 4400 mm; Width: 1960 mm; Height: 1125 mm; Wheelbase: 2680 mm
-150 (approx)
2,470,000 Frs.
Baptized 110 years after Ettore's birth, the EB 110 is the result of a group of investors from Modena headed by Paolo Stanzani, ex-chief engineer of Lamborghini and designer of the Countach, who leaning on this fantastic brand that has disappeared with its crossed destinies between France, Italy and Germany. Announced in 1990, it was revealed to the public on September 15, 1991. It originally had a V12 of 3.5 Liters and 550hp, as well as a line with sharp edges, without visible references, except for the logo, machines from the 1930s. It was planned to put it into production at 150 units per year. But the project was quickly reworked by Gildo Pallanca Pastor, grandson of a Monegasque millionaire who made a fortune in real estate, who bought back the shares of the company.

The engineer Materrazzi, father of the Ferrari F40 got down to the task and a production EB 110 came out in 1992, restyled by Marcello Gandini with more references to the past, such as the small grille symbolized in the middle of its entrance to front air, aluminum rims royal style and treated with the characteristic Bugatti blue. Its V12 undoubtedly judged still "too soft" was doped by 4 turbos, nothing less, allowing it to pass to leave far behind all that could have been born in Modena. The only potential rivals were the road versions of the Le Mans 24 Hours racing cars, or ... the little Belgian Gillet Vertigo. In Geneva in 1992, the lightweight 110s version, with an even different design, with a 611hp V12, equipped with a huge spoiler, and sold at 3,000,000 francs each, held the world record for the 1000 meters standing start, crossed in 19.6 seconds. It went from 0 to 100 Km / h in 3.26 seconds and could reach 355 Km/h, for a weight down to 1570 Kgs. Both had a full carbon fiber body.

The EB 110 has since been produced in small series in Campogalliano, at Bugatti Automobili SPA.But in 1992, the group passed from Gildo Pallanca Pastor to a new group of investors, including Romano Artioli, the main patron, who ordered Giugiaro a sports sedan study. In 1993 the GT and SS were on sale, and the following year, an SS took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the incessant procrastination over the style and general design of the car prevents it from being involved in a sporting career, and finally, in 1997, the company ceases its activity and is liquidated, the precious spare parts for the cars. buyers, squandered at auction ... Although still impressive, the EB110 looks like an unfortunate outsider, despite having the strength of a prestigious name and funds and technical designs largely up to the task. A great mess that the current Veyron tries to make forget.

Bugatti EB112 (1993)


A contemporary "Royale"? Without going into the disproportionate excess of this ancestor, the EB 112 is rather a 4-seater 4-door sports coupe.

4-seater sedan.
Front mid-engine - all-wheel drive.
12 cylinders in V, 60 valves 6 Liters, 2 ACT, 460 hp DIN @ 6300RPM. and 590 N/M
0-100 Km/h: 4.8 sec.; 1000 D.A .:; Max speed: 290 Km/h.
1800 Kgs.
Length: 5100 mm; Width: 1900 mm; Height: 1400 mm; Wheelbase: 2880 mm
5
1,500,000 Frs.
After unveiling the EB.110 coupe in 1992, the Campogalliano firm near Modena passed from the hands of Pallanca Pastor to those of Romano Artioli, one of Italy's greatest fortunes. Giorgetto Giugiaro, known for having signed the most superb cars, immersed himself in the Bugatti universe in Mulhouse, within the Schlumpf collection which gives pride of place to Molsheim productions. He returned to Turin with a precise idea of ​​the style he should give to this new EB 112, which was presented in Tokyo in 1994 in its final version, with revised aerodynamic details and elongated bumpers.

It was crowned by the Japanese as more of the beautiful car in the world. Its chassis uses carbon, its aluminum body and its engine positioned behind the front axle give it advantages in terms of lightness and handling that eclipses most of its competitors. Naturally endowed with the fiery V12 of the previous EB 110 berlinetta, which remained at 460hp without the turbos, associated with an all-wheel drive, makes it a formidable sporting sedan, which a two-volume body and a well-assumed neo-retro style characterize in a nod to global production.