Bugatti, the once famed luxury marque was resurrected in the late 1980's, but this time in Modena Italy instead of France. The company's goal was to create a car built for speed rather that the ultimate luxury cruiser. The Bugatti EB110 was named to celebrate the one hundred-tenth birthday of the orignial company's founder, Etore Bugatti. The EB110 featured a quad-turbo V12 mounted behind the driver and even gave a nod to the famous '"horseshoe" shaped grille up front. The car's shape was designed by famed Italian design house, ItalDesign. Unfortunately for the new Bugatti, a global economic downturn burst the supercar market bubble in the mid-90's. The company went broke while attempting to purchase Lotus and develop an EB112 sedan. Production of the EB110 shut down even with several chassis still on the assembly line. The German racing firm Dauer eventually scooped up and finished these last remaining cars. B.Engineering obtained the final unfinished chassis to create their wild and exotic Edonis supercar.
This is the Bburago rendition of the EB110 GT. The GT was the initial car released by the new Bugatti, and a more potent version of the car dubbed the SS was made available shortly after. The SS is obviously the more sought after car, and a yellow example was even owned by racing legend Michael Shumacher.
Design and Accuracy: 6/10
Bburago doesn't specify whether this car is a GT or SS model. The bottle-cap BBS wheels indicate a GT model as well as the rear quarter windows. The SS would have had port hole vents instead of glass. The rear fixed wing, however, is a trait of the SS. The GT had an adjustable rear spoiler, but it was flush with the rest of the body. Honestly, I always assumed my model was a SS until I took the photos for this review.
The interior is pretty basic. Stickers were chosen over texture and take place of buttons and gauges. The dash is an obvious sticker, the door sills are stickers, and the seat controls are stickers. The seats are hard plastic and there isn't any carpeting; pretty typical for a mid-grade model like this Bugatti.
Bburago made an honest attempt to make the engine compartment interesting. Certain components are textured and others are given different colors to stand out. I can't for the life of me find anything on Google that show's those chrome EB badges in a real EB110. The awkwardly divided back glass piece behind the cockpit allows the large hinges to do their job. All in all, I feel like this engine compartment leaves a lot to be desired. A few more colors would be appreciated and an attempt to disguise the plastic as metal would have made this perfect.
Fit and Finish: 6/10
The scissor doors on this car are pretty sturdy and lock into upright position for display. One disappointment though is the quality of the paint on the door jambs. It's as if overspray from the body was going to be good enough for the quality department. Why make a model of a car that has such interesting doors if it's going to be embarrassing to display with them open? Why bother with the details like the door sill stickers? The disappointments with the paint continue when opening the front compartment reveals the lack of paint along the cowl. Once again it seems like the hood was installed and closed when the model was sprayed.
Features: 5/10
The doors open and the wheels turn. The front compartment opens and so does the rear hatch covering the engine compartment. There is no active suspension. The interior is pretty basic and is made up of plastic and stickers. The rear wing should be adjustable, but my model has a fixed wing. I've seen other EB110 models with a lower, adjustable wing. I am not sure if those are revised Bburago models. Maisto made an EB110 as well and it has the correct style wing.
Value: 7/10
This is definitely a mid-level model. It looks great on the display shelf or on your desk at the office. This model won't wow anybody with its details, but for the most part, this car has more details that your average, generic brand model. I believe I picked mine up for around $30 about ten years ago. Reasonable eBay listings range anywhere from $15-35.
Rarity: 3/10
This Bburago is very easy to come by. A quick search on eBay netted me 24 1:18 cars in a wide range of colors including French Racing Blue, black, red, yellow, and silver. This car was also available in 1:24 scale if you're short on display space. I found the same on Amazon, lots of models to choose from. I'd be willing to bet most of our readers have this one already in their collection.
Total: 27/50
Should You Get It? The Bugatti EB110 was certainly overshadowed by its rivals of the era. The McLaren F1, Jaguar XJ220, and Lamborghini Diablo were far more popular. However, this car is quintessential for any supercar collection and for the money, this Bburago will cross the EB110 off your want list. If details are your forte and money is less of a concern for you, I suggest waiting to see what the upcoming EB110 release from AutoArt looks like, albeit a lowly GT and not the SS.
