24 years later they have found it
There are stories in the world of motorsport that seem straight out of a mystery novel. In 1995, when Bugatti Automobili SpA and its owner Romano Artioli declared bankruptcy, one of their last newly completed EB110 Super Sport disappeared without a trace. When the banks began to gather the company’s assets to pay off outstanding debts, that vehicle, identified as chassis number 021 painted in the iconic Blu Bugatti color, did not appear in any registry. One of the most exuberant supercars from that time had vanished…until now. A project broken before its time The Bugatti EB110 was born from one of the most ambitious bets in the automobile industry at the beginning of the nineties. Romano Artioli bought the rights to the Bugatti brand and built a factory from scratch in Campogalliano, in the Italian Motor Valley, near Modena. A total of 139 units of the EB110 were manufactured there, among which were 30 examples of its limited edition Super Sport, the most extreme in the range. Among its most famous owners are names such as Michael Schumacher, who celebrated his first Formula 1 Championship by purchasing a bright yellow EB110 Super Sport in 1994. Precisely, the Kaiser’s F1 car was chassis number 020, the car that was manufactured just before the unit in question: Super Sport number 021. As has happened so many times in the automobile industry, manufacturing one of the most desired supercars in the 90s is not easy. guarantee of financial viabilityso the Bugatti brand did not resist the economic recession of the first half of the nineties. The company declared bankruptcy in 1995 and the administrative chaos that followed meant that chassis 021 was left out of official records. Having been sent to a supplier for homologation, and not yet having completed its certification process, the car disappeared from the inventory and, with it, from the brand’s official history. It was as if unit 021 of the EB110 Super Sport had never been built. But it did exist. The reunion with a time capsule The EB110 Super Sport chassis 021 reappeared in 2019 in Munich (Germany), with just 674 kilometers on the odometer. After an exhaustive review by a team of specialists in Italy, the Bugatti was once again on public display, now as part of the personal collection of the American collector JR Amantea. The license plate with which he arrived in the country left no doubt about his history: “LOSTEBSS”, in direct reference to his long period of unknown whereabouts. After its rediscovery, the EB110 Super Sport no longer remained in storage. Unlike its previous owner, Amantea took it to the most exclusive motorsport events in the world: the The Quailheld during the 2022 Monterey Car Week; and the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2023. In both it won the award for the best in its category, consolidating its reputation as one of the most extraordinary pieces in automotive collecting. The car retains its original Blu Bugatti paint and original Grigio Scuro interior, as well as including the Bugatti Certificate of Conformity, original manuals and tools. It also bears the Romano Artioli signature next to the side air intakes. That a supercar with these characteristics would reach the year 2025 with less than 700 kilometers traveled and in practically factory condition does not have many precedents in the collecting market. It’s like I’ve been in a time capsule. The EB110 Super Sport is considered one of the most technologically advanced supercars of its time. With the 3.5 liter V12 engine, prior to the arrival of the W16 developed by express wish by Ferdinand Piech and four turbos, all-wheel drive and a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, represented an enormous technical leap by the standards of the early 1990s. Recently, the Bugatti vehicle has taken a new turn in its eventful history, becoming part of a lot that is put up for auction by the Mecum house in Indianapolis. The auction house has confirmed that the lot will come out without a reserve price, which means that it will be the collectors interested in this gem who will really decide its final price. As and how to collect RobbReportalthough Mecum declines to offer an official estimate, recent sales of equivalent supercars suggest that its price could be between $2.5 million and $3.5 million. In Xataka | For years no one knew who had bought the most expensive Bugatti in the world: until it became part of an inheritance Image | Mecum Auctions