B Engineering Edonis

The B Engineering Edonis is a sports car developed in the year 2000 and manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer B Engineering with overall engineering by Nicola Materazzi (ex Lancia, Ferrari & Bugatti) [1] and styling by Marc Deschamps [2] (ex Gruppo Bertone).[3]

Not many details of the intermediate design stages by Materazzi and Deschamps are documented but some of the sketches are documented in the promotional videos by B.Engineering.[4] Until 2012 the 1:1 scale buck model (with some damage) of the Edonis was for some time stored at Heuliez and then listed for auction. It shows how the body shape was made before body panels were formed for the prototypes.

Development History

The new company started to develop a new sports car under its name using the chassis of the EB110 as a base. Nicola Materazzi gave guidelines to designer Deschamps to dress the car in a body with aerodynamic efficiency in mind in order to achieve a target top speed of 100 m/s, or 360 km/h.[17] [18]

Thanks to good relationships between Materazzi and Scaglietti (from the days of Ferrari), the latter recommended local artisans who could make the bodywork for the first two prototypes the bodywork in aluminium, a technique that Modenese artisans have practiced for decades and which is useful for low volume production to reduce early tooling costs.[19] The interior was also new compared to that of the EB110 with an updated dashboard and seats, upholstered in leather.

Coming from a strong background in racing, during the development of the EB110, Materazzi was never convinced of the effectiveness of the four turbochargers and the four wheel drive system, often stating that it was a way to "render difficult what is easy by adopting the un-necessary".[20] In his interviews Materazzi discusses that the body of the car was completed very quickly in 47 days, just in time for the presentation on New Year's Day of 2001. However the EB110's technical specification had already been established by 1990 and was not going to change in the mind of the President of Bugatti Automobili. For the Edonis the displacement of the engine was increased marginally from 3.5 to 3.76-litres and finally Materazzi was able to replace the four small IHI turbochargers with two larger IHI units: a reduction in marketing image but an increase in efficiency due to fluid mechanics laws that intrinsically link compressor and turbine wheel inertia and flow efficiency (a compromise between the two).[21] The modified engine generates a power output of 500 kW at 8,000 rpm and 542 lbft of torque at 3,200 rpm. The four-wheel-drive system used in the original EB110 was replaced in favour of a rear-wheel-drive system reducing the weight by 70 kg. The EB110 gearbox which is integrated with the engine was retained.

manufacturer	B Engineering
production	2000-2003 and 2018 (3 units)
designer	Nicola Materazzi (Chief Engineer), Marc Deschamps (Styling)
class	Sports car (S)
related	Bugatti EB 110
engine	3.8-litre Bugatti twin-turbo V12
transmission	6-speed manual
body style	2-door coupé
layout	Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
powerout	500 kW
wheelbase	2565 mm
length	4350 mm
width	1998 mm
height	1120 mm
weight	1300 kg

B Engineering Edonis

Background

Development History

Design

Production

Performance

External links

References