$9 million Bugatti Centodieci honors the EB110 supercar

Bugatti is a brand built on heritage. From the earliest Grand Prix racers to the cutting-edge Chiron, Bugatti has always tapped into design elements uniquely its own. So with the announcement of the new Centodieci during Monterey Car Week, it should come as no surprise that the design is heavily focused on heritage.

The design of this new car is not just heritage in general, however. It is specifically focused on the Bugatti EB110 of the 1990s—the brand’s first such public celebration of this car from the era before Volkswagen Group took over Bugatti’s ownership. The EB110 was brought to life following a revival of the Bugatti brand by Romano Artioli in 1987. The then-bleeding-edge design packed a 60-valve 3.5-liter V-6 and four turbochargers behind the driver’s cockpit. A driver-rowed six-speed gearbox sent power to all four wheels.

“We are proud of our long Bugatti history, of which the EB110 is very much a part,” says company president Stephan Winkelmann. “That’s why we’re celebrating a reinterpretation of this extraordinary vehicle with the Centodieci—[which is] Italian for 110.”

This retro-designed car packs more of Bugatti’s heritage than just the shape of the EB110. Mounted mid-ship is the 8.0-liter W-16 engine, borrowed from the Divo and Chiron but tuned up just a bit tighter to give it 1600 horsepower. But when it comes to performance, Bugatti is quick to shy away from the recent trend of promoting top speed numbers as the end-all, be-all.

“It’s not just the top speed that makes a hyper sports car,” Winkelmann says. “With the Centodieci, we once again demonstrate that design, quality, and performance are just as important.”

The chassis sheds some weight compared to the Chiron, which combined with the 100-hp increase from the W-16, raises the bar for hypercar capability. Of course, Bugatti is also a brand of exclusivity, which is why just 10 examples of the Centodieci have been sold. Past tense. That’s right, this model is already sold out.

For all this power and exclusivity, Bugatti set pricing at $9,000,000. Judging from the car’s looks and specs, it is fair to say Bugatti has effectively captured the bonkers soul of the EB110, even if it comes at a cost triple that of the Chiron. If you missed out on the Centodieci, maybe consider the EB110, which is on the rise but can be had for a humble $1.25M—which compared to the Centodieci seems like a pretty good buy.