When the Bugatti EB110 was first revealed in Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense, near Paris, an alien spaceship landing in the French capital would have drawn less attention.

Characterful design cues such as the covered headlights integrated into the bonnet, an elongated chassis with its low, purposeful stance, and signature scissor doors projected an other-worldly aura for the reinvented Bugatti brand.

The return of Bugatti as an active supercar manufacturer was as much cause for commotion as the new model itself.

Having been inactive since 1952, various attempts to revive the famous marque had failed before Italian entrepreneur and Ferrari dealer, Romano Artioli, acquired the rights to the brand in 1987.

Artioli wasted no time in building a state-of-the-art assembly line in Campogalliano, Italy, where Bugatti laid the foundations to do battle with heavyweight supercar manufacturers such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, each headquartered almost within sight on t...