The Bugatti Centodieci is a very rare supercar. Only 10 will be built, an ongoing process. With such rarity, one might expect these cars to be sheltered in a garage with barely a mile on the odometer. But each Centodieci will cover at least 217 miles, exploding well beyond 200 mph in the process. And it happened even before the owner took delivery.
That’s because the pre-shipment inspection of the Bugatti from Centodieci isn’t just a close look with white gloves and a magnifying glass. As well as looking flawless, Bugatti turned to Steve Jenny for what could be the most thorough manufacturer evaluation in all of automotive. Experienced test driver for Bugatti, Jenny was tasked with driving each Centodieci on a 186-mile lap that exposed the car to almost every situation its owner might face.
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Part of the trip included acceleration and speed tests at a closed airport, where the hypercar was propelled to an electronically limited top speed of 236 mph. Slalom and emergency maneuvers are also performed, training the machine to its maximum limit.
This test is not just about verifying power and performance. Bugatti says Jenny is so used to the Centodieci that she can sense small differences in everything from engine noise and road noise to how switches and buttons feel in the cockpit. It’s all part of gauging the car’s “personality,” which appears to be quite different from the Chiron even though both vehicles share the same frame and a quad-turbocharged 1,578-hp W16 engine.
But wait, there’s more.
After the 186 mile test drive was completed and the necessary adjustments made, Bugatti changed the gearbox filter and swapped the wheels/tyres for the final set to be given to the customer. Jenny goes up for other drive about 30 miles to make sure everything is ok. Only then did Centodieci leave Bugatti care for customers – with each car showing 217 miles or more on the clock.
The Centodieci debuted in 2019 to considerable fanfare, paying homage to the 1990s EB110. However, production of the first prototype doesn’t start until 2021, followed by testing ending in early 2022. Production of the customer car started in March, with a limited number of just 10 in total.
