Here’s a little information about the beautiful 1994 Bugatti EB 110 SS which was on display at the 2022 Concours of Elegance. One of our favourite supercars cars of all time. You can see more Concours of Elegance news, reviews, videos and galleries here.
In the early 1990s, it seemed as if the era of the outrageously-styled supercar had gone. Jaguar’s XJ220 was slinky and aerodynamic, and Lamborghini (and General Motors, which owned the firm at the time) had smoothed down Marcello Gandini’s original plan for the Diablo.
Then the Bugatti EB110 appeared, with none other than the master of maximalism and Countach-crafter himself, Marcello Gandini, having a big influence on how the car looked. Though Giampaolo Benedini would refine the car into the finished form, Gandini’s influence can be seen in the EB110’s brutalist looks.
Performance was brutal too, along the lines of’ more is always more’-at a time when supercars were only just grappling with two turbochargers, Bugatti grafted four of them and 12 individual throttle bodies to its 3.5-litre V12 engine. The technical engineering was a veritable who’s who’s of supercar artisans; the project involved Tiziano Benedetti, Achille Bevini and Oliviero Pedrazzi, who had all worked on the Lamborghini Miura, while another Lamborghini alumnus, Paolo Stanzani was named technical director. But after disagreements with Bugatti CEO Romano Artioli, he was replaced by none other than Nicola Materazzi, the man behind the F40 and many other Ferraris, as well as Lancias and Cagiva motorcycles. The result was & 553bhp monster that counted Michael Schumacher among its owners.
This particular example is the only right-hand drive EB110 and was first displayed at the 1994 British Motor Show. Built to a unique specification, it features a prototype Super Sport engine. The SuperSport (SS) project was more powerful and lighter than the standard GT, boasting 610bhp.
After the motor show the car was used for further development work, including the fitment of ventilated front wings and a prototype rear bumper with side reflectors.
After Bugatti tumbled into bankruptcy, the assets were split and purchased by Dauer and former Bugatti vice-chairman Jean-Marc Borel, who formed B-Engineering. The RHD EB110 was among the assets Borel bought; it was then stripped and refinished in the original Grigio Chiaro.
Borel sold the car in 2001, and the current owner then had it sent to Dauer for upgrades, which included a comprehensive overhaul of the engine and running gear, including new pistons and turbos, resulting in an output of 645bhp. The interior was retrimmed in dual-tone Bugatti blue leather and the rear wing upgraded to a Dauer item that offered more downforce and a rear-view camera.
