The Bugatti Centodieci, which was revealed as a limited edition tribute to the EB110, has successfully completed its wind tunnel testing at speeds of 300 km/h. This test was conducted by a 6 840 kW engine that drives an eight-metre propeller which generates a permanent intensive airflow that is powerful enough for an airplane to take-off.
“We use this to simulate the airflows under the vehicle and in the wheel wells, and then precisely tune the Bugatti Centodieci,” explains André Kullig, Technical Project Manager for one and few-off projects at Bugatti.
The driveshafts of the Bugatti Centodieci were dismantled ahead of testing in order to prevent the external drive of the wheels from transferring any forces into the vehicle. The car is then fixed with nothing but four small pins in the underbody and its height is varied according to the testing plan.
“It makes no difference to us engineers whether we are developing a hyper sports car for one, ten or 500 units – the effort is the same, as we have and want to meet, even exceed the quality and safety standards applicable to mass production,” explains Kullig.
In the wind tunnel tests, Bugatti’s engineers check the airflow on and around the Bugatti Centodieci at a variety of speeds. Starting at 140 km/h, they use a standard setup to determine a benchmark figure for comparison with other Bugatti hyper sports cars. They then run various tests up to the test bench’s maximum speed.
“What’s important are the data for downthrust at the front and rear axles. These have to be perfect because they are crucial to the vehicle’s handling at high speeds,
“No matter what speed and what driving situation, the Centodieci is sportily neutral and can be managed at all times in spite of its immense power,”
The Bugatti Centodieci is limited to ten vehicles, all of which were sold out within a matter of hours at a net unit price of approximately R135 million. Delivery of the highly exclusive and handcrafted few-off model will begin next year.