The factory at Campogalliano, just outside Modena, was a beautiful building, full of light and perfect in every detail. In this, it reflected the historic Molsheim premises. Moreover, computer technology was an integral part of the plant, unlike the situation in the neighboring factories of his competitors. It was all very impressive. Yet Artioli now reflects that “perhaps it was an error to build the works right there.” Be this as it may, the first automobile they produced there was certainly a car to be reckoned with: the EB 110, with the body in carbon fiber, four-wheel drive, a 550 hp 4 turbo V12 and a top speed of 212 mph. Artioli has generally steered clear of the subject of his relationship with competitors, whose sense of fair play he has sometimes doubted. But with its focus on automobiles and collectors, The Key believes that what counts is the fact that he had the courage to breathe new life into a marque that seemed to be finished, despite the incredible creative verve and innovation it had embodied from the Belle Époque through to the end of the 1930s. The fact that today the EB 110s of those years are now becoming collectors’ items calls for no further comment. Artioli’s efforts and achievement have become part of history.
The wonderful W18 engine, made compact by the use of three banks of six cylinders each forming a double V. The power unit, manufactured by Audi with Ferdinand Piech’s support, was mounted on the EB 18/3 Chiron and was destined also for the Quattro Porte saloon. Today, the unit that is fitted to the car is still perfectly functioning after the thorough restoration that was carried out by the owner of the 18/3 Chiron, Swiss collector Albert Spiess.
130 // TOP OF THE CLASSIC CAR WORLD
8
EB 110: 137 units plus 4 secret prototypes designed by Gandini...
If you line them up, you really appreciate how similar they are, and yet also how different. The first four EB 110s were the prototypes tested in 1991. They had chassis numbered A35 A2/3/4/5 and the Marcello Gandini hallmark for body design. This was such a marked feature that Romano Artioli actually feared that some people might consider them too similar in style to the Lamborghini Countach and Diablo. The Key does not intend to get involved in this debate, but it is clear that all four cars largely resembled each other, with only minor differences: for example, the first, the A2, had the NACA air inlets on the front that were later abandoned.