The Bugatti EB 118 is the first
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
developed by
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The 2-door
coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
was presented at the 1998
Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
.
Bugatti commissioned the design of the EB 118 from
Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont.
Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
of
Italdesign
Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best kno ...
. The EB 118 is powered by a
W18 engine W18, W-18 or W.18 may refer to :
* W18 engine, a type of engine
* Hansa-Brandenburg W.18, a Hansa-Brandenburg aircraft
* 1-(4-Nitrophenylethyl)piperidylidene-2-(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonamide (W-18), a designer drug
A designer drug is a structural ...
and has permanent
four wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
.
Design
![Paris - Retromobile 2012 - Bugatti type 57SC Atlantic - 1936 - 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Paris_-_Retromobile_2012_-_Bugatti_type_57SC_Atlantic_-_1936_-_001.jpg)
The design of the car is intended to echo the 1931
Type 50 and the
57SC Atlantic. The EB 118 has a longitudinal rib that echoes the Atlantic's longitudinal body seam.
Debut
Bugatti introduced the EB 118 at the 1998
Paris Auto Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
. After its Paris debut, Bugatti displayed the EB 118 along with its four-door counterpart the
EB 218 at the
Geneva Auto Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by the ...
and the
Tokyo Motor Show
The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by ...
in 1999. The design was already production ready, but
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. decided that they wanted to focus on a sports car based on the
18/3 Chiron concept car introduced in 1999, so that the EB 118 stayed a concept car and never made it into production.
Powertrain
Power comes from a
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
-designed
W18 engine W18, W-18 or W.18 may refer to :
* W18 engine, a type of engine
* Hansa-Brandenburg W.18, a Hansa-Brandenburg aircraft
* 1-(4-Nitrophenylethyl)piperidylidene-2-(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonamide (W-18), a designer drug
A designer drug is a structural ...
which produces and of torque. The EB 118 W18 engine has of three banks of six cylinders with a sixty degree offset between each cylinder bank. The EB 118 also features permanent
four wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
taken from the Lamborghini Diablo VT.
This same powertrain was later used in both the 1999
EB 218 and 1999
18/3 Chiron cars.
References
External links
Bugatti homepageExternal picture; bugattipage.comMotor1.com. Bugatti ID 90 And EB 112, EB 118, EB 218: Concept We Forgot
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Grand tourers
Retro-style automobiles
1990s cars
Bugatti concept vehicles
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