Snapshot, 1993: honest reflection with Giugiaro and the Bugatti EB112

06 April 2019

It’s February 1993, and at Bugatti Automobili’s factory in Campogalliano, the ‘designer of the 20th Century’ Giorgetto Giugiaro sits beside his latest masterpiece, the EB112 concept. Little does he know that the striking saloon is destined to become no more than a myth…

Romano Artioli’s revived Bugatti brand has made serious waves with the EB110, so much so that the Italian entrepreneur has seen fit to follow the innovative supercar with a saloon, just as Ettore Bugatti did with the Type 57 Galibier. He drafted in arguably the most revered automotive designer of them all, Giorgetto Giugiaro, to pen a striking four-door fastback design dripping with design cues that hark back to Bugattis of old, such as the ‘spine’ and the wheels that reference those of the Royale. Even the handle of the accompanying umbrella stashed in the boot is shaped like Rembrandt Bugatti’s rampant elephant. Alas, unbeknownst to everybody, the EB112 will never reach fruition – financial difficulties will put a premature end to Artioli’s Bugatti dream and the EB112 will be consigned to the history books. What could have been, eh?