When the Bugatti EB110 first appeared in 1991, I couldn’t stomach it’s looks. I was eight years old, too, and I did not know about things like it’s four-wheel-drive system, it’s 3.5L quad-turbo V12, it’s ballistic performance, or such details as the throttle linkage. Seriously, if you have never seen the throttle linkage on an EB110, it’s a gorgeous system.
This is also a car that showed up with five valves per cylinder before Ferrari lauded it’s F355, had a full carbon fiber tub before it became McLaren F1, and was hitting 216 miles an hour, which would place it in top-tier territory before McLaren’s three-seat wonder came in and kicked the door down with a 240 MPH blast. And with that, the EB110 just kind of disappeared. Part of that was due to Bugatti Automobili, Romano Artioli’s version of the company, collapsing in 1995, and part of it was the fanfare surrounding the McLaren. The EB110’s looks didn’t do it any favors back then either.
Nowadays, hearing “Bugatti” conjures up images of Veyrons…breaking records, cruising around Dubai, crashing into salt marshes…but the EB110 has managed to come into it’s own. Only took twenty years, but the EB110SS that Chris Harris gets to drive appeals to just about every part of me that loves poster cars. Ok, the yellow and red combination is a love it or hate it affair (count me in the “hate it” group) but everything else suits me fine: a comfortable car that is light and isn’t filled with electronics that make you look like a better driver than you are. An honest six-speed manual. And one of the few times that turbo lag could work in your favor: around town it’s docile as a kitten, but as soon as you let the tach sweep past four grand, prepare for a rush few have come to know.
Compared to the Veyron, it’s gorgeous.
“Nowadays, hearing ‘Bugatti’ conjures up images of Veyrons…breaking records, cruising around Dubai, crashing into salt marshes…”
I got a good laugh out of that!
This thing looks like an uglier version of the Z32-chassis 300ZX, if that’s even possible.
At first glance I thought this was going to be an article on an abominated Z car. Whoops.