Bugatti EB110 Super Sport

Bugatti EB110 Super Sport

The 1992 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport continued the remarkable technical ambition of Romano Artioli's Bugatti revival, combining every cutting-edge technology available in the early 1990s into a single, devastatingly fast package. As a 1992 model year production car, the EB110 SS sits at the heart of the model's limited production run and benefits from any refinements applied during the manufacturing period.

The quad-turbocharged 3,499cc 60-degree V12, producing 611 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 3,750 rpm, was the EB110 SS's defining achievement. The five-valve-per-cylinder head design (60 valves total) provided exceptional breathing, while the four small IHI turbochargers maintained boost response that was remarkably immediate for a forced-induction engine of this power level.

The sequential twin-plane turbo arrangement was sophisticated. At low rpm, exhaust gases drove only two of the four turbochargers. As engine speed and exhaust volume increased, the remaining two turbochargers came online progressively, maintaining boost pressure without the dramatic on-off power delivery that characterized many turbocharged supercars of the era.

The carbon fiber monocoque was constructed at Aerospatiale (the French aerospace manufacturer), representing a level of structural technology that was unprecedented for a road car. The monocoque's exceptional stiffness-to-weight ratio provided a rigid platform for the suspension while keeping the curb weight to approximately 1,566 kg -- impressive for a car with permanent AWD and a V12 engine.

The Hewland six-speed manual gearbox, with its distinctive exposed gate, required deliberate inputs but rewarded the driver with a mechanical connection to the powertrain that modern automated gearboxes cannot replicate. The clutch was heavy, reflecting the torque it had to manage, and the synchromesh required matching engine speeds for the cleanest shifts.

The permanent all-wheel drive system, with its viscous coupling center differential and limited-slip differentials front and rear, provided extraordinary traction in all conditions. The rear-biased torque split maintained the car's sporting character while the front wheels provided additional grip when needed -- a philosophy that the later Veyron would adopt.

Suspension was fully independent at all four corners using double wishbones with coil springs and adjustable shock absorbers. The system was calibrated to provide both track-capable precision and acceptable road comfort, though the Super Sport's harder settings favored the former over the latter.

Braking used massive ventilated and cross-drilled discs at all four corners, with calipers designed to manage the thermal load of decelerating from 221 mph. ABS was standard, providing a safety net for the enormous kinetic energy the EB110 SS could develop.

The EB110 SS's legacy has grown enormously since its initial reception. Its pioneering technologies -- carbon fiber construction, quad-turbo engine, and permanent AWD -- became the foundation of the Bugatti engineering philosophy that produced the Veyron and Chiron. In many ways, the EB110 SS was the proof of concept for the modern hypercar formula.