Bugatti has followed up the stratospherically priced La Voiture Noire – revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March – with another low-volume special with a multi-digit price tag. The hallowed Molsheim-based marque used the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey to unveil the 8-million-euro Centodieci, of which just 10 units will be built.
As per the Divo and La Voiture Noire, the Centodieci is a spin-off from the Chiron and uses the same fundamentals – an 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, Haldex all-wheel-drive system and carbon fibre chassis as its basis. But the W16 motor has been uprated to 1,600hp, which is an extra 100 horses over the Chiron, Divo and La Voiture Noire.
All 10 units of the Centodieci have already been pre-sold to handpicked VVIP customers, as is usually the case with mega-exclusive low-volume specials from the top-tier ultra-premium brands.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the significance of the nameplate, ‘Centodieci’ is Italian for ‘One Hundred-and-Ten’, and the moniker is reflective of the fact the latest limited-edition car is a tribute to the EB 110, of which Bugatti built 139 examples from 1991 to 95. Befitting its lineage, the Centodieci was previewed in July to a small selection of media – including this Bespoke contributor – at a private viewing in the same Campogalliano factory where the EB 110 was produced in the early 1990s.
The Centodieci pays tribute to EB 110’s pioneer status via an assortment of styling cues that link it to the yesteryear supercar – such as the oval perforations in the upper-rear section of its flanks and headlights set inboard and well back to mimic its ancestor’s narrow-eyed face. Meanwhile, the trademark horseshoe grille is significantly smaller than those worn by the Chiron and Veyron and this, too, is a nod to the EB 110.
Bugatti design director Achim Anscheidt says the Chiron’s voluptuous shape is reflective of the fact that it’s not meant to be a “racecar for the road”, but he suggests the Centodieci’s low-volume status and visual links to the EB 110 afforded him and his team with more leeway to stretch the brand’s design language.
