Bugatti debuted its most powerful supercar at Pebble Beach
on Friday: a $10 million,1,600 horsepower throwback to the
’90s that sprints from 0 to 62 mph in 2.4 seconds.
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The French carmaker is making a
splash at Monterey’s annual auto week. The Centodieci is the
company’s latest coachbuilt super car commemorating
Bugatti’s 110th anniversary.
Unlike Bugatti’s $18.7 million La
Voiture Noire, which was built for grand touring, the
Centodieci was built for speed. The company is making just
10 of the Centodiecis, which feature Bugatti’s 8.0-liter W16
engine. The company added an extra air inlet to help cool
the engine.
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It pays tribute to the EB110, the
company’s famous supercar of the 1990s. The La Voiture
Noire, which literally translates to the black car, and a
white Centodieci are both on display at “The Quail: A
Motorsports Gathering” car show in Monterey, California
recently
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“With the Centodieci we pay homage to the EB110 super sports
car which was built in the 1990s and is very much a part of
our tradition-steeped history,” Bugatti President Stephan
Winkelmann said in a press release. The EB110 is the only
Bugatti produced under former Italian owner Romano Artioli
at a factory in Campogalliano, Italy, and not at the
company’s famous chateau in Molsheim, France.
The Centodieci races from zero to
62 mph in 2.4 seconds, to 124 mph in 6.1 seconds and to 186
mph in 13.1 seconds. Like its cousin the Chiron, Bugatti
electronically limited the top speed of the car to 236 mph
It’s about 44 pounds lighter than the Chiron. Bugatti did
that with a lot of carbon fiber. The car’s windshield wipers
and stabilizers both use the material, creating a
power-to-weight ratio of just 2.5 pounds per horsepower.
With more than 200 pounds of downforce, Bugatti said it
corners like the Bugatti Divo — a car built for cornering.
The Centodieci’s design echoes the EB110′s with familiar
styling cues like the five circular air intakes toward the
back of the car. Bugatti also designed all-new LED
headlights to further evoke the Italian wedge shape of the
previous car.
“The challenge was not to allow oneself to be captivated too
much by the design of the historic vehicle and work solely
in retrospect, but instead to create a modern interpretation
of the shape and technology of that time,” said Achim
Anscheidt, head designer at Bugatti
The car’s white color is also no coincidence.
“With the communication paint
finish in white, we’re demonstrating a powerful contrast
with the La Voiture Noire – the black car just presented in
March: two completely opposing yet related forces, like yin
and yang,” said Winkelmann.
Bugatti made only one La Voiture
Noire, which already
has a buyer even though the car won’t be ready for at least
2½ years. It plans to build 10 Centodiecis, which will cost
roughly $10 million after taxes.
Bugatti’s output is generally very limited, with the company
producing just 70 cars a year. It only plans to make 500 of
its Chiron supercar, and more than 400 spoken for already.
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