Bugatti Centodieci - First prototype for series development!

Highly exclusive, full of character and powerful. With the Centodieci, Bugatti presented another project of its excellent coachbuilding expertise at "The Quail - A Motorsports Gathering" in California in summer 2019. The Centodieci quotes automotive history: the unique project pays homage to the legendary EB 110. Only ten vehicles from the Few-off project are being built for an exclusive clientele. Now the next phase begins for the hyper sports car with W16 drive and 1.600 hp: the first prototype for series development is currently being built.

Bugatti Centodieci prototype

The design of the Centodieci with the flat front, deep-seated front spoiler and three-part air inlets reinterprets the shape of the most famous super sports car of the 1990s. The EB 110 was an important milestone on the way to the revival of the Bugatti brand in 1998 in Molsheim, at the historic headquarters of Bugatti, and towards the first modern hyper sports car, the Veyron.

With the Centodieci, Bugatti bows to the Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli and the star architect Giampaolo Benedini, who created the EB 110 around 30 years ago. “It was a challenge for us not to get caught up in the design of the legendary EB 110 and only work in the retrospective. We wanted to create a modern interpretation of the form and technology of the time. At the same time, we couldn't lose the charm and character of the EB 110. Because the super sports car is still fascinating today with its special design and technology, ”says Achim Anscheidt, chief designer at Bugatti. Biggest challenge: to convert the very flat, wedge-shaped and graphically quasi two-dimensional body of the EB 110 into a modern, three-dimensional sculpture and thus to translate the fascination of the super sports cars of the time into the modern age.

Every vehicle is an immense challenge!

Since the world premiere of the Centodieci, the Bugatti development team has been working on the technical implementation of the strictly limited model. "Every newly developed vehicle is an immense challenge, as we develop a small series that must also meet and even exceed all quality and safety standards of a large series“, Says André Kullig, technical project manager for one- and few-off projects at Bugatti. The engineers first delve into calculations of the body, aerodynamics, engine and transmission. They simulate the flow through the vehicle and check all components down to the smallest screw.

At the same time, the design team, in close coordination with the developers, controls the styling, finalizes it and designs surfaces. Depending on the incidence of light, they adjust the curvature of the components so that they appear homogeneous in all lighting conditions - a complex development process. After well over a year of construction and simulation, the team has now developed the first prototype.

"I was really looking forward to the first prototype of the Centodieci“, Says Kullig, who has been with Bugatti since 2004 and previously on projects like that Divo  and The Voiture Noire accompanied. "The series development, especially of a few-off project like the Centodieci, which is a very design-driven project, is an exciting challenge“, Says Andre Kullig. His task: to perfectly combine the external shape with the technology. Because despite the only ten vehicles, the Centodieci must meet all the technical requirements that a Chiron must also meet.

"With the newly designed body there are changes in many areas that we had to simulate with the help of special computer programs. Using the data, we were able to set up a basic set-up as a starting point for series development and the first prototype“Explains André Kullig.

The team was recently able to successfully put the rolling chassis into operation on the on-site roll test bench in the Molsheim studio and check all functions of the drive train - to ensure that the Centodieci reaches the next stage of development. In the next step, the complex exterior is built. "With such a high-performance hyper sports car like the Centodieci, the aim is to filter out subtleties that require concentrated and intensive development work due to the changed requirements of a completely new outer skin“, Says André Kullig.

The technical challenges were enormous: an eight-liter engine with 1.600 hp generates high temperatures that require sophisticated thermal management. As with the EB 110, the engine is presented behind a transparent glass surface. For the benefit of more efficient engine thermal systems, the Centodieci relies on a wide air outlet opening and modified air flows. In addition, guide flaps around the five round air inserts, placed as a rhombus, ensure sufficient air intake for the sixteen-cylinder unit. The otherwise dominant Bugatti line, the C line, is therefore giving way to a new design. The rear forms a large air outlet opening shaped by the eight rear light elements. Further challenges in the development are the new lighting elements and the design of the rear wing, which is permanently mounted based on the EB 110 Super Sport.

But no matter how much data the development team can simulate and test on test benches, the Centodieci will also be tested dynamically. "In the next few months, in addition to setting up the exterior and further simulations in the wind tunnel, we will also be on the road on test sites and start tuning the chassis“, Says Kullig happily. Within a few hours, all ten units of the Centodieci were sold out at a net price of eight million euros. The highly exclusive and hand-made small series will be delivered in the coming year.

Photos: Bugatti

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Bugatti Centodieci - First prototype for series development!

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