The Bugatti EB110 was the marque’s second wind
When the Bugatti EB110 came out in 1991, it was the brand’s first car in a long time. With it, the French carmaker reclaimed the title of the fastest, road-going, production car ever made, albeit for a brief time. In SS trim, the EB110 was capable of 221 mph (355 km/h), which made it faster than the Jaguar XJ220. About a year later, the McLaren F1 arrived to steal the crown. Bugatti first achieved this with the 1930s Type 57 Atlantique, which managed a top speed of 124.3 mph (200 km/h). The EB110 was quite advanced for its day, bringing all-wheel drive and four turbochargers to the table. These are two brand firsts that both the Veyron and Chiron, and their respective derivatives, later adopted.
In time to celebrate its founder
The EB110’s name and debut were not chosen at random. Die-hard enthusiasts probably know that “EB” stands for Ettore Bugatti – the founder of the company – while “110” stands for celebrating 110 years of Ettore Bugatti’s birth, in 1881. The first Bugatti to be produced under Rimac ownership still doesn’ t have an official release date, but we know it will not be fully electric, as was initially expected.
We know the car will come out sometime in the next few years and 2026 could be the right time. If it arrives then, it could be named EB135 in commemoration of Ettore Bugatti’s 135th anniversary. At this point in time, we have no indication of what designation future Bugatti models will adopt. Rimac’s plans may involve bringing back model names of the past or coming up with completely new nameplates, symbolizing Bugatti’s rebirth.
The Bugatti EB110 never really got a proper successor
You might argue that the 2022 Bugatti Centodieci was a spiritual successor to the 1991 EB110. While you may be right, the Centodieci is simply an exercise of adapting the 1990s design on top of a Chiron. Really, it was no different than what Lamborghini did with the Countach LP800-4, which was a restyled Aventador.
The W-16 Engine Is No More, but what comes next might surprise you
The fact that Bugatti will no longer offer the 8.0-liter, quad-turbo, W-16 engine is bound to upset a few people. Thanks to Porsche having stakes in both the Rimac-Bugatti merger as well as the Croatian company itself, means that the first hybrid Bugatti may feature a Porsche engine. Considering the original EB110’s 3.5-liter, quad-turbo V-12, a successor to the 1990s model would be easier to swallow for those frowning upon the W-16’s retirement. Mate Rimac already confirmed that the next Bugatti will not be fully electric, which at the very least means the French brand is going the downsizing route, as opposed to what it was doing now.
The next Bugatti will, likely, not share a chassis with the Chiron
The Bugatti Chiron and by extension, all special editions based on it, like the Divo, Centodieci, Bolide, and others, are based on a revised Veyron chassis. The same goes for the engine and transmission, with the most obvious changes being in the software department, we are told. Regardless, it’s already clear that the future of Bugatti will not involve the Chrion, nor its W-16, which opens new possibilities.
The first hybrid Bugatti is expected to ditch the Chiron architecture completely and is expected to share a lot with Rimac’s Nevera and, to a degree, with Porsche, likely in the form of a twin-turbo V-8. While this would certainly put a dent in the French brand’s exclusivity, it would give the brand a chance to reimagine old models like the EB110. With that said, Rimac founder, Mate Rimac, also confirmed that future Bugatti models will still be produced at the château and atelier in Molsheim.
The next-gen Bugatti models to run on synthetic fuels?
While nothing is set in stone, we know that Porsche has been working on prolonging the internal-combustion engine’s service years by introducing synthetic fuels. The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS is one of the first models to run on these environmentally friendly fuels. Given Porsche’s entanglement in the Rimac-Bugatti merger, it’s not impossible to see a Bugatti running on synthetic fuels if Porsche decides to provide an engine for Bugatti’s future models.
