Body style 4-door sedan | Layout F4 layout | |
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Manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro (ItalDesign) Related Engine 6.3 litre, 72 Valve W18 | ||
The Bugatti EB 218 4-door sedan is the second concept car presented by Bugatti under ownership of the Volkswagen Auto Group. The EB 218 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also designed the EB 112, the car's predecessor and the EB 118, the car's 2-door variant. The EB 218 can be considered as an update of the EB 112, the 1993 Bugatti Automobili SpA concept. The EB 218 features Volkswagen's unconventional W18 engine and permanent four-wheel drive borrowed from the Lamborghini Diablo VT.
Contents
Design
Bugatti commissioned Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign to update the EB 112 4-door sedan concept that he designed for Bugatti Automobili SpA in 1993. The EB218's wheelbase measures 3 meters (118 inches) and a total length of 5385 mm (212 in). This makes the EB 218 longer that the EB 112 by 315 millimeters. The most notable visual differences between the EB 218 and the EB 112 is a redesigned hood, bumpers and lights. The overall design is far less controversial than the EB 112's "Droopy hatchback-sedan" look and has a much more of a typical sedan shape rather than the EB 112's hatchback-sedan shape. The interior design is very simple yet extremely luxurious, with beige leather seats and a large wooden dash which manages to keep all the instruments and vents "composed". The EB 218 draws inspiration from the classic Bugatti Type 101 Berline Tourisme.
Debut
Bugatti debuted the EB 218 at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, one year after its 2-door counterpart was revealed at the 1998 Paris Auto Show.
Powertrain
The EB 218 uses the same W18 engine and permanent four wheel drive powertrain that debuted in the 1998 EB 118. The same technology was used in the 1999 18/3 Chiron concept car.
Power comes from a Volkswagen-designed, 555 hp (408 kW) and 479 lb·ft (650 Nm), W18 engine. This engine design was extremely unconventional due to the unusual firing order of the engine. The EB 218 W18 engine is composed of three banks of six cylinders with a sixty degree offset between each cylinder bank. In contrast, the W16 engine in Bugatti's (Under Volkswagen ownership) first production car, the 2005 Veyron EB 16.4 features four banks of four cylinders. The EB 218 features permanent all-wheel drive taken from the Lamborghini Diablo VT supercar.