Bugatti EB110 Super Sport
In the 90s, long before the Veyron and long before Volkswagen decided to mandate the French car brand, Bugatti was revived by an Italia entrepreneur. Eager to reinforce the founder Ettore Bugatti Italian heritage, the plans were grandiose. During this time, there were several supercars that fought for the “most extreme supercar”-title. England contributed with their Jaguar XJ220 (and soon also the McLaren F1). Italy had their monstrous Ferrari F40 and brutal Lamborghini Diablo. For Germany the Porsche 959 was their given competitor.
Even today those names linger with respect, but Bugatti wanted to beat them all. They wanted to create the supercar of the supercars…Said and done, in 1991 the car was revealed to the public under the name EB110 GT. It had a 3,5 litre V12 with four turbochargers that put out 560 Hp. To engender traction, the car was equipped with an advanced 4-wheel drive system. The chassis was carbon fibre and the body were aluminium. Even though it was built with lightweight materials, it was a heavy car. The scales stopped at 1.600 kgs. Despite the weight, the Bugatti was fast. The 0-100 km/h time were at a respectable 4,2 seconds and the top speed landed at around 330 km/h. It was one of the most technologically advanced cars of its time. It was the first car in the world to have a carbon fibre chassis and FOUR turbochargers!
In 1992, Bugatti revealed a lighter, faster and more hardcore version of the EB110 called the EB110 Super Sport, or more commonly known as the EB110 SS. The power was beefed up to 615 hp and the 4-wheel drive system was ditched for a lighter rear wheel drive system. Although it was regarded somewhat like a flawed gem, it was a supercar that gave the biggest names in the business a fight to remember.
Sadly, Bugatti went bankrupt in 1995, leaving several unfinished cars on the factory floor. Luckily, a German named Jochen Dauer found them and bought the abandoned chassis. Under their German leadership, they got a new life under the Dauer name. The Bugatti Dauer EB110 SuperSport was an awe-inspiring car. The body was now completely made from carbon-fibre and the weight was around 200 kg lighter than the original car. The 0-100 km/h time landed at a supercar-smashing 3,2 seconds and the speed did not stop until the needle passed the 360 km/h mark.
“The legendary Bugatti EB110 Super Sport spearheaded the true supercar era in the 90:s... "
The car we go to know was one of the 11 Dauer-built EB110 SS. It’s not a very stealthy car due to its attention demanding looks and the Lamborghini-style doors. Thanks to how the engine and gearbox was situated, it was also a very small car. If you look down in the engine bay, you can see that the engine is placed a bit to the left leaving room for the gearbox finding its place right next to it. Usually the gearbox is in front or behind the engine. This particular chassis with the number #39137 was the fourth chassis built by Dauer and it lived in Sweden for several years and was used extensively on track-days and on the road. It was later sold to Russia, where it crashed heavily on a Road-rally.
Looking in retrospective it is hard to understand why the EB110 Super Sport did not catapult itself into a success story. It was the most technically advanced supercar of its time, had an incomparable performance and stood out in the crowd. However, bad economical choices by Bugatti, low production numbers due to economic recession and low media exposure have left this car as a footnote in history, known only to the enthusiasts. Thus, when you talk about Bugatti today, people tend to skip a decade of true car history and only mention the Veyron. That is sad, because it was one of the cars that spearheaded the true supercar era in the 90s. The Legendary EB110 will forever be in the supercar hall of fame, even though it might be one of the most anonymous members of the famous club.
360 km/h
Top Speed
637 Nm
Torque
615 Hp
Power
3.2 sec
0-100 km/h
$ 1 500 000
Price
