2019-10-01_CAR_UK

(Marty) #1

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There’s no engine, either, currently, just an electric motor to allow it to be
moved around for loading. Production versions will feature the Chiron’s
8.0-litre W16 engine, massaged to release an extra 99bhp, lifting power
from 1479bhp to 1578bhp. Top speed is limited to 236mph, but the 0-62mph
drops to 2.4 seconds.
Winkelmann won’t be drawn on how that extra grunt was unearthed,
but quickly shuts down any suggestion that liberating that kind of power
without the engine going pop was as simple as nipping down to Superchips
for a quick remap. ‘You would not believe how hard, how expensive it is, to
achieve the extra power,’ he says, shaking his head.
Beyond the extra power and the new look, what customers are really
getting is exclusivity. Only 10 Centodiecis will be built, and buyers will have
to wait until at least 2021. But when companies like Lotus are talking about
2000bhp machines, isn’t there a worry the new Bugatti will have been
usurped by the time it reaches production?
‘Our cars are expensive but we only make a very small number,’ Winkel-
mann explains. ‘We need to sell them in advance to fund the development.
Every project, including these special cars, has to make financial sense.’
And does he think there are sufficient obscenely rich, car-crazed people
in the world to sustain the increasing proliferation of mega-money hyper-
cars like the Centodieci?
‘There are plenty of people who want to buy cars like these, but this will
be the last one-off car from Bugatti,’ he says, wandering over to a display
board containing pictures and information about the car that came – or
should have come – after the EB110, the EB112. ‘After this we need to focus
our attention on a bigger project. We need to think about a second model, a
production car to sit alongside the Chiron.’
The EB112 shown on the board is a huge whale of a luxury saloon with
a Tatra-like backside and a wheelbase so big it ought to have another axle
in the middle of it. Designed by Italdesign and shown at Geneva in ’93, it
was a car Bugatti needed to succeed to stay afloat. But it never made it to
production.
Winkelmann turns, pokes out his tongue and gives the ugly limo a big
thumbs down. Presumably for the execution, and not the concept. This
is the man, remember, whose attempt to deliver a cool high-performance
saloon, the Estoque, to Lamborghini buyers was only thwarted by the
financial crisis. Twice.
But this is also the man who went on to oversee the massively successful
introduction of the Urus SUV. Does he think there’s still a place for luxury
saloons like this?
‘There is,’ suggests Winkelmann, hesitantly, ‘but most customers for
these kind of cars, especially women, want to sit high so they can see out.’
That’s why Bugatti’s next car is, rather unsurprisingly, a luxury SUV/
crossover. I can almost hear the collective groan now, but the original
Bugatti company’s history of luxurious, yet usable, grand tourers and
saloons like the Royale should make the prospect more palatable than, say,
a Fer r a r i S U V.


CENTODIECI 2019-on
Production cars 10
Powertrain 7993cc
64v quad-turbo W16,
1578bhp, seven-speed
gearbox, all-wheel drive
Performance 2.4sec
0-62mph, 236mph (ltd)
Weight 1975kg


CHIRON 2017-on
Production cars 500
Powertrain 7993cc
64v quad-turbo W16,
1479bhp, seven-speed
gearbox, all-wheel drive
Performance 2.5sec
0-62mph, 261mph
Weight 1995kg

EB110 GT 1991-1995


Production cars 139
Powertrain 3498cc
60v quad-turbo V12,
552bhp, six-speed
gearbox, all-wheel drive
Performance 3.4sec
0-60mph, 213mph
Weight 1620kg

Inside Bugatti’s forgotten chapter

‘The new car will be the greatest, most expensive car in its sector,’ says
Winkelmann. ‘But it won’t be the most expensive or extreme Bugatti. The
Chiron will always be on top.’
The as yet unnamed car will be built in the hundreds, rather than tens,
per year, will cost in the hundreds of thousands, rather than millions,
of pounds, and will be powered purely by electricity. Winkelmann also
believes it is important that the car is built (or at least finished) at Bugatti’s
Molsheim home. Transforming a factory currently turning out 70 cars per
year into one capable of making 10 times that amount will require some
serious investment.
It’s a bold move. How do you know when to embrace a trend and when
to stay true to yourself? I ask: ‘If men’s fashion suddenly swayed towards
incredibly wide-leg trousers, would you switch, or stick with the skinny?’
Caught off guard, Winkelmann takes a moment to register the question
before erupting in laughter (let’s face it, it could have gone either way). ‘No,
I think I’m too old to change now,’ he says. ‘I’m already out of style; today’s
shirt collars look different. I think I’ll stay like this.’
But at the same time Winkelmann knows that Bugatti must change to
stay relevant. Or as relevant as any car as deliciously absurd as a Bugatti can
ever be.

THE STATS: CENTODIECI VS CHIRON VS EB110


Five elliptical
intakes the
most overt
nod to EB110
Free download pdf