During the development of the Bugatti EB110, many prototypes, and concepts came to life. This car shown here was one of them, the 1990 Bugatti EB110 A3 Prototype (ZA9AB0E0MCD39002 - GT002), finished in Blu Navy over a black interior. After the collapse of the Bugatti brand during the 1960’s, it wouldn’t be until the late 80’s that Italian entrepreneur, Romano Artioli, would seek to revive the brand. Very early discussion from 4 prominent men in the automotive industry took place consisting of Italian industrialist, Ferruccio Lamborghini, French financial director, Jean-Marc Borel, Italian mechanical engineer and automotive designer, Paolo Stanzani, and Italian entrepreneur, Romano Artioli. The goal behind the discussions was to develop a new supercar in a limited production fashion, however, Artioli had even bigger ideas than just this. In 1987, Artioli and Borel had reached a deal with Messier-Hispano-Bugatti in order to acquire the Bugatti name, and thus, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. was created. One year later, Architect Giampaolo Benedini, who was a family member of Artioli’s, was put in charge of construction of a new factory in Campogalliano, Italy. Chassis development began with work being handled by Tecnostile, which was a company formed by ex-Lamborghini employees including Tiziano Benedetti, Achille Bevini & Oliviero Pedrazzi. With the underpinnings now complete, multiple designers were asked to submit proposals for what would later become the ‘EB110’ Supercar including Paolo Martin, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Nuccio Bertone and Marcello Gandini. The A3 prototype (shown here) was one of Gandini’s initial designs, which consisted of aluminum chassis prototypes ‘A1-A5). A3 was used mainly for testing emission levels. Stanzani was replaced in 1990 by Italian mechanical engineer, Nicola Materazzi, as the projects new Production Chief Engineer. The production EB110 GT was finally completed, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth, in 1991.
How many made? 5 total in this series (A1-A5)
Engine: quad-turbo 3.5 L V12 - around 550hp
Debut: N/A
Top Speed: N/A
0-60mph: N/A
Photo Credit: @johann.petit
Research: @rarecarsonly