The Bugatti Centodieci is one of the craziest hypercars to debut in recent times, and the fact that Bugatti is using it as a nod back to the EB110 supercar makes it even more enticing. Only ten units are to be built, and even though the spec sheet looks absolutely otherworldly, those numbers count for nothing when the hypercar has to be packed and trailered back to Molsheim after a public appearance.

Wait, what? How can the Centodieci be both electric and powered by an internal combustion engine?

Well, there’s a catch. Indeed, the Centodieci packs Bugatti’s 8.0-liter W-16 mammoth of an engine. The powerhouse makes 1,176 kilowatts (1,577 horsepower) at 7,000 rpm, enough to blast the Centodieci to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) from a standstill in 2.4 seconds. 0 to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) happens in 6.1 seconds, while 0 to 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour) takes just 13.1 seconds. Terminal velocity is electronically limited at 380 kilometers per hour (236 miles per hour). But that’s not the point here. The Centodieci is also designed to move slowly. Like really, really slow. In complete silence, too.



You see, Bugatti wasn’t planning on just launching the Centodieci and then move straight to delivering the ten vehicles to their respective lucky owners. As you’ll see in the video, a team of technicians is working hard to take the car off the stand it was displayed on. It sounds like an easy task, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not, as the video will reveal.

Now, upon seeing the clip, you’ll probably be wondering how come there’s no engine sound since the car is obviously being moved around. Well, the Centodieci is obviously not a hybrid, so it can’t be running in some sort of pure-EV mode.

What’s more, it’s definitely not an electric car, so our best guess is that this being a show car (thus closer to a concept than a road-going vehicle per se), Bugatti didn’t actually install the mighty W-16 and instead opted for some sort of electrical setup that puts out enough power to allow the Centodieci prototype to be moved around, on and off a ramp, but nothing more than that.

via GIPHY

We must also note that seeing the car on video makes it grow on us even more. Sure, our jaws were nicely resting on the keyboard when the first official press photos of the Centodieci came out, but its lines and shapes are even more expressive when shot on camera from up close. Oh, and funny thing: whatever setup is powering the show car isn’t enough to move the windshield wipers, apparently, as there’s someone constantly removing the raindrops off the driver’s side glass with a piece of cloth. Talk about high maintenance, right?