Bugatti has a prestigious racing history that stretches back a century. Ettore Bugatti’s vision of the most perfect automobiles lives on today, but the last time the prancing elephant hit the race track was back in the 1990s. The last official Bugatti racers visited H.R. Owen in London for a tune-up.
The Bugatti EB110 represented one of the most advanced cars of its era. A quad-turbocharged V12 machine will all-wheel drive provided the mechanical complexities to make it one of the fastest road-legal automobiles of its day. Bugatti even took the model racing with the last two works cars now being cared for by the UK’s only ‘Bugatti Partner of Excellence’, H.R. Owen.
The legendary EB110S LM entered the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1994 – a race that marked the 55th anniversary of Bugatti’s last win at this very special endurance race. Put together in less than six months, the car hit the track and proved competitive, however, it wasn’t plain sailing. A fuel leak began and five new turbos were required during the race, but its sheer pace meant that there was time enough for such heavy maintenance. Sadly, an incident just 45 minutes from the end saw the car not finish.
The other Bugatti, dubbed EB110S SC GTS-1 was designed to race in the WSC GT class, and was modified accordingly. During 1995 it finished fifth at Watkins Glen and sixth-in-class at Sears Point. A Daytona 24 Hour outing was looking promising before the car fell short with transmission problems.
Both of these cars still see plenty of action, but the task of maintaining them is now down to H.R. Owen.
H.R. Owen CEO, Ken Choo, said: “Caring for a Bugatti is unlike caring for any other type of performance vehicle; the world’s most advanced materials and technologies combine to create a car that pushes the boundaries of speed and usability. Looking after any Bugatti is a privilege, but to be responsible for the maintenance of the last ever Works racing Bugattis is extremely special. It speaks volumes of the expertise of our Service team and our advanced facility that our customers trust us not just with their Chirons and Veyrons but also with priceless pieces of Bugatti history like these two racers.”
Far from museum pieces, this pair get exercised regularly. Excellent!
Keyword: Iconic Bugatti racers visit London workshop