---
title: Romano Artioli · HICONIUM
description: Romano Artioli in the HICONIUM register — one file carrying their credit.
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image: https://hiconium.dev/og/people/romano-artioli.png
---

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> Path: [Home](https://hiconium.dev/) › [People](https://hiconium.dev/people) › Romano Artioli
> On this page: [Quality before volume](#quality-before-volume) · [Campogalliano for engineers](#campogalliano-for-engineers) · [An in-house brief](#an-in-house-brief) · [One file carries this name](#one-file-carries-this-name)

![Portrait photograph of Romano Artioli.](https://hiconium.dev/_derived/images/people/romano-artioli/portrait.jpg.w1920.q75.webp)

People

# Romano Artioli

Founder and chairman of Bugatti Automobili; instigator of the EB110 programme

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Moglia, Province of Mantua, 1932 |
| Nationality | Italian |

Wikimedia Commons

The record

Italian entrepreneur who acquired Bugatti trademark rights in 1987, founded Bugatti Automobili at Campogalliano, and presented the EB110 in Paris on 15 September 1991.

Born on 5 December 1932 in Moglia, Mantua, Artioli moved to Bolzano at five and studied mechanical engineering. At sixteen he repaired cars in his family’s garage. The family later opened Garage 1000 Miglia and founded Autexpò. Artioli became a Ferrari dealer, opened a Stuttgart branch and imported Japanese cars including Suzuki. In 1952, aged twenty, he learned that Bugatti production had ceased.

After negotiations with the French government, Artioli acquired the Bugatti trademark in 1987, founded Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. and became chairman. He had considered Molsheim, but said the region then lacked production halls and engineers. He chose Campogalliano near Modena and commissioned his cousin, architect Giampaolo Benedini, to design the works. The factory opened on 15 September 1990, Ettore Bugatti’s 109th birthday.

Artioli’s brief to Modenese engineers called for all-wheel drive and a car, including its engine, designed in-house. Initial EB110 sketches came from the designer of the Lamborghini Miura and Countach; Benedini modified the wedge-shaped design for production. On 15 September 1991, Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday, Artioli presented the EB110 in Paris with a carbon monocoque, quad-turbo 3.5-litre V12, five valves per cylinder and permanent four-wheel drive.

The EB110 was offered as a GT and later as the lighter Super Sport. Michael Schumacher bought a yellow Super Sport in 1994. As the supercar market contracted, Artioli’s 1993 purchase of Lotus added financial pressure. On 23 September 1995, after production of about 128 cars, he filed for bankruptcy and paid the 220 Campogalliano employees to their last day.

### Quality before volume

He said production output mattered less than quality and innovation, and that he owed that standard to Ettore Bugatti.

### Campogalliano for engineers

He wanted Molsheim, but the region had no halls or engineers. He built beside Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomaso and Lamborghini, and brought a Molsheim door into the new works as a tribute.

### An in-house brief

He gave Modenese engineers a free hand within a few constraints: all-wheel drive, and an engine and car designed in-house rather than bought in.

The stations

1. 1987–1995 Bugatti Automobili Founder and chairman
2. 1993–1996 Lotus Cars Owner and chairman

The house

[![Bugatti](https://hiconium.dev/images/marques/full/bugatti.svg)](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers/bugatti)

Credited through Bugatti Automobili.

In the register

## One file carries this name

- [Bugatti EB110 Company founder and programme creator · Bugatti Automobili 1991–1995 €2.4M 1991–1995 €2.4M Rating 90.0](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/bugatti/eb110)

The files above are the register's own record of this name. [The people index](https://hiconium.dev/people) holds everyone the register credits.

In their words

> “With the EB 110, we had to push the boundaries in terms of performance and quality. I owed that to Ettore Bugatti. Production output was less important than uncompromising quality and innovation.”

Romano Artioli · Bugatti Newsroom, 6 April 2021

Sources

- [newsroom.bugatti.com](https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/romano-artioli-the-man-who-breathed-life-into-bugatti)
- [newsroom.bugatti.com](https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/romano-artioli-at-90-a-visionary-and-bugatti-savior)
- [newsroom.bugatti.com](https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/bugatti-history-the-blue-factory-in-campogalliano)
- [newsroom.bugatti.com](https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/romano-artioli-visits-bugatti-in-molsheim-for-the-first-time)
- [newsroom.bugatti.com](https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/bugatti-eb-110-legend-the-first-modern-super-sports-car)
- [corrieredellaltoadige.corriere.it](https://corrieredellaltoadige.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/25_dicembre_23/romano-artioli-una-vita-dedicata-alle-supercar-tra-lotus-e-bugatti-schumacher-diceva-che-le-mie-erano-le-migliori-lauda-fece-da-73f5f1f2-f858-4230-b52c-16f038174xlk.shtml)
- [deliacultura.it](https://www.deliacultura.it/autori/dettaglio-844-0/)
- [roadandtrack.com](https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a39194610/the-lotus-elise-was-named-for-her-now-she-owns-the-last-one-made/)
- [lotuscars.com](https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/lotus-story/about-lotus?channel=app)
- [societe.com](https://www.societe.com/manager/Romano.ARTIOLI.571eloX95Im.html)
