The Marcello Gandini' proposal design for the Bugatti EB110 of the 1990s
Other Proposal As we all know, a prestigious fancy brand like Bugatti has also experienced gloomy days. One of the moments of the revival of the legendary French fancy brand had occured in the early 1990s originally proposed by Ferruccio Lamborghini, and carried out by Romano Artioli with Paolo Stanzini. Then through the new formed company named Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., Artioli assembled an unparalleled group of talents in pursuit of building a supercar worthy wore the Bugatti's badge.
The Marcello Gandini' proposal design for the Bugatti EB110 of the 1990s named Bugatti DMD80 Concept. (Picture from: Carrozzieri Italiani)
The list of prominent names in the automotive industry included Paolo Stanzini, the renowned engineer for the Lamborghini Miura, Espada, and Countach, who later became technical director of Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. As for the chassis development carried out by Tecnostile led by Tiziano Benedetti, Achille Bevini, and Oliviero Pedrazzi, all three of whom are known for having participated in the Lamborghini Miura' chassis and engine developments.
The Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept has a classic wedge shape that concealed a number of aerodynamic tricks up its sleeves. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
Then the company developed a supercar that would later be known as the Bugatti EB110 starting in 1987 for the chassis and mechanics. In addition, a number of well-known automotive designers and styling houses such as ITAL Design, Bertone, Paolo Martin and Marcello Gandini were also invited to make design proposals. At the end the Gandin's design proposal was chosen by the Artioli's company to be further.
The Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept was originally built with an aluminum honeycomb chassis but later redesigned with carbon fiber. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
The mentioned car was originally built with an aluminum honeycomb chassis but later redesigned with carbon fiber. Power is provided by a bespoke 3.5-liter V12 engine, with four turbochargers, which produces over 550 bhp of power and is channeled through the 6-speed manual gearbox and full-time all-wheel-drive system. All this allowed the car to reach a top speed of 221 mph with an acceleration from rest to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, that's an outstanding performance number for the time.
The Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept has deep recesses in the nose of the car provided airflow to elements of the cooling systems. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
Gandini's initial design for this car was a classic wedge shape that concealed a number of aerodynamic tricks up its sleeve under the name of Bugatti DMD80 Concept. Deep recesses in the nose of the car provided airflow to elements of the cooling systems and double fan-assisted rear diffuser aided in road-holding. The car also has an "active" spoiler at the rear which rose above the deck while it run at high speed.
The Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept fitted also double fan-assisted rear diffuser aided in road-holding. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
The lines are clean, if a bit brutish, and represented one of Gandini's better late career designs. During the development phases, the automaker built four prototypes of the "new" Bugatti were clothed in Gandini' style of the uniqueness scissor-door types and went through extensive testing in that form.
The Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept has also an "active" spoiler at the rear which rose above the deck while it run at high speed. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
However, Romano Artioli was apparently not impressed with Gandini's angular design language incorporating a shovel nose and flared rear wheel arches and demanded revisions. So Gandini created a second iteration of the design with softer lines, revised head and taillights and slightly different proportions for the rear wheel arches, that's such similar cue can also be seen on the Maserati Chubasco of 1991.
The Bugatti DMD80 Concept is clothed in Gandini' style of the uniqueness scissor-door types and went through extensive testing in that form. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
Turns out this wasn't enough to calm the boss down and Gandini ended up lost his patience with the whole endeavor. And it could be said that the revived incarnation of Bugatti would not have a body directly penned by the maestro. Seeing this, then Romano Artioli commissioned Gianpaolo Benedini, an architect who had designed the company's iconic "Blue Factory" in Campogalliano, to make changes to the car's design that he asked for.
The 2nd iteration of the Bugatti DMD80 Concept done by Marcello Gandini with softer lines, revised head and taillights and slightly different proportions for the rear wheel arches. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
The latest vehicle design replaces the network of cooling slots on the bonnet with ducts in the front fenders, leading to the outer sides of the two large fixed headlights, which replaced the pop-up headlights of the early prototype. In a peculiar nod to the original Bugatti radiator design, small horseshoe-shaped vents are also added to the lower region of the front fascia. Uniquely, pill-shaped vents and lighting were also added to the rear of the car as well.
This marked as the first of two occasions that Marcello Gandini's designs were ignored by his clients. The same thing happened during the development of the Lamborghini's supercar that would become known as Lamborghini Diablo when the company under the Chrysler's ownership. By employing internal staff, they also revised Gandini's design.
However, in the end Gandini could breathe a sigh of relief when the Diablo design variants he sold to Giorgio Moroder and Claudio Zampoli later became the Cizeta V16T to be one of the wildest supercars of the early 90s, even crazier than the Bugatti EB110.
The Bugatti EB110 production version (in the middle) is flanked by the four prototypes of the Gandini's Bugatti DMD80 Concept. (Picture from: RareComponentCar)
On September 15, 1991, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. unveiled the Bugatti EB110 in its final form for the first time at the Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense, Paris, exactly 110 years after the birth of Ettore Bugatti.
Like many similar businesses at that time, the automotive company also did not last long and was liquidated again in 1995. And during its short production period, it turned out that the company was only able to build the Bugatti EB 110 as many as 139 units with a dozen others made in carbon fiber by Dauer of Germany.
However, with the sinking of the Bugatti legendary brand at that time, it again invited the interest of many parties to revive it again. And finally in 2000, the legendary brand based in Molsheim, France was acquired by the German automotive giant Volkswagen Group. Under the banner of this new ownership, Bugatti is noted for producing some of the most spectacular and extraordinary supercars ever. If Ettore Buggati can witness the brand's achievements today, maybe he would be wore a big smile on his lips when sees one of the world's fastest cars wearing the Bugatti macaron with its typical horseshoe grille. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | RARECOMPONENTCARS | CARROZZIERI ITALIANI ]
The list of prominent names in the automotive industry included Paolo Stanzini, the renowned engineer for the Lamborghini Miura, Espada, and Countach, who later became technical director of Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. As for the chassis development carried out by Tecnostile led by Tiziano Benedetti, Achille Bevini, and Oliviero Pedrazzi, all three of whom are known for having participated in the Lamborghini Miura' chassis and engine developments.
However, with the sinking of the Bugatti legendary brand at that time, it again invited the interest of many parties to revive it again. And finally in 2000, the legendary brand based in Molsheim, France was acquired by the German automotive giant Volkswagen Group. Under the banner of this new ownership, Bugatti is noted for producing some of the most spectacular and extraordinary supercars ever. If Ettore Buggati can witness the brand's achievements today, maybe he would be wore a big smile on his lips when sees one of the world's fastest cars wearing the Bugatti macaron with its typical horseshoe grille. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | RARECOMPONENTCARS | CARROZZIERI ITALIANI ]
