We've seen the Centodieci before, of course. Bugatti revealed it back in 2019. Our man in Campogalliano was treated to a private showing at Bugatti's abandoned factory, which is obviously the perfect way to be shown the car built as homage to the manufacturer's wonderfully scattergun history.
The scattergun in question is the EB110 (Centodieci being '110' in Italian), Bugatti's famously cutting-edge - and low-selling - nineties hypercar. Behold the low-slung front spoiler and three-part air intakes, all part of the effort to reimagine the Chiron-based model as a spiritual successor to the wedge-shaped heavy hitter.
We show it again to you now because the manufacturer has finally reached the prototype phase. Apparently the process has not been without its obstacles. There will only ever be ten Centodieci - priced at eight million euros before taxes - but the limited-run model must meet all the same technical requirements as the Chiron.
Bugatti says the challenges were 'enormous'. The modified version of its 1600hp 8.0-litre engine is viewed through glass, just as the V12 was in the EB110. That as presented numerous thermal management issues, and the Centodieci's modified design is partly a result of the W16's cooling requirements.
The result, though, will be suitably mighty. Bugatti claims a 2.4-second 0-62mph time, a 6.1-second 0-124mph time and a 13.1-second 0-186mph time, the last of those being half a second quicker than the Chiron. "In the next few months, in addition to building the exterior and running more advanced simulations in the wind tunnel, we're very much looking forward to going out on the test track to start tuning the chassis," says project manager, Andre Kullig.
It feels like a slow build-up for what is unquestionably destined to be one of the fastest cars on the planet. Question is, have the intervening months softened anyone's opinion of the unashamedly divisive Centodieci? Because, alternatively, you could have this, this, this, this and this with change left over for a house to put them in. Decisions, decisions.
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