Naked Bugatti Centodieci Exposes the Astonishing Engineering Around the 1,600-HP W16
Meet the first Centodieci prototype for series development.
We've already seen the 1,850-horsepower Bugatti Bolide track-special prototype without most of its ultra-light carbon fiber body panels, only to find 3D-printed hollow titanium parts that can withstand mind-blowing forces underneath. The Bolide is also the most extreme testbed of the quad-turbo W16 powertrain, yet as far as the road-going Chiron alternatives go, the 1,600-horsepower Bugatti Centodieci priced at $9.7 million and limited to ten units is also an interesting proposition. That's what we'll be studying here.
Long sold out, the futuristic tribute to Romano Artioli's 1991 Bugatti EB110 is actually 25 miles per hour slower than the Chiron despite its extra power, for which you can blame its high-downforce aero package. To remind you more of the later EB110 Super Sports, Bugatti's team added the iconic air inlets designed by architect Giampaolo Benedini where the Chiron features the traditional C-line. These five holes also improve oil cooling. The rear is basically formed into a large ventilation outlet, dominated by the eight-piece LED taillight.
As a result of all the modifications and powertrain tuning, 62 mph comes in just 2.4 seconds. You can be at 124 mph in 6.1, and 186 mph is reached in 13.1 seconds as the Centodieci breaks negative fuel consumption records.
Now gearing up for series production, Bugatti already put its first proper Centodieci chassis on its roller dynamometer in the Molsheim Atelier, only to check all vital signs of the 1,600-horsepower 8.0-liter W16 before moving on to building the custom exterior. With all the packaging now exposed, have you ever seen a more intimidating rolling chassis? My toolkit would fail me, that's for sure.
With the ten Centodieci models being scheduled for 2022 deliveries, in the next few months, this validation prototype will undergo dynamic testing with simulations run in the wind tunnel, and the chassis setup will follow in the footsteps of the more handling-focused Chiron Pur Sport, no doubt.
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