Alongside thousands of hours of meticulous pre-production component and full vehicle testing, experienced Bugatti test driver Steve Jenny put the Centodieci through its paces in one final pre-delivery validation to ensure there were no niggles that needed correcting.
According to the auto maker, the Centodieci’s pre-delivery inspection was one of the most intense you will find in the industry. It involved drives through the countryside around the home of Bugatti in Molsheim for around five hours covering around 300km on a variety of roads and surfaces. The Centodieci was also driven on a local airport runway to test the car’s 0-100km/h acceleration. It was also validated on high speed slaloms, emergency lane changes and emergency braking. Alongside these performance elements, Jenny checked the material finishes and bespoke touches applied to each car.
In any typical pre-delivery test that Bugatti conducts, set routes are defined including twisting mountain roads winding up through the Route des Vins d’Alsace, through typical Alsatian villages. Jenny checks for almost-imperceptible discrepancies that are only obvious to someone with his experience driving a Bugatti. Even if any material feels rougher than it should, if the buttons, switches or handles don’t feel or look as they should, he will feed this back to his colleagues. Everything is measured and analyzed to ensure the vehicle will be delivered to extremely precise tolerances with zero room for interpretation.
Only once a long list of stringent Bugatti criteria has been fulfilled is a car deemed ready for the next stage on the journey toward production. The filter in the gearbox is changed, the final set of wheels is fitted, any imperfections are corrected or parts replaced if needed, and the vehicle is taken on one final test drive of around 50km, with each car having covered a minimum of 350km before it is delivered to the customer.
Jenny said, “There is no compromise in the creation of a Bugatti, especially one as rare and unique as the Centodieci. Since only 10 will ever be created, the opportunities to drive such an extraordinary car are so rare that we must redouble our attention during the final drive. Ensuring consistent perfection across each Centodieci, and every Bugatti, is extremely important. If we encounter any issues we will not be swayed by deadlines or timing; the car will not be delivered until we are confident it is perfect in every single detail. It’s what has come to define the Bugatti brand, and it’s what our customers expect.”
