Bugatti's Back And Only $350,000

Don't make the mistake of thinking the helipad at the Bugatti Automobili workshops near Modena, Italy, is some piece of corporate frippery. It's a needed customer service. "A lot of our clients arrive in their own helicopters to visit us," says Mario Barbieri, vice-chairman of Europe's hottest exotic car company. "Or we can send a helicopter for them. No problem."

Clearly, Bugatti customers aren't the kind to suffer from sticker shock, even when the sticker exceeds $350,000. That's the price of the top-of-the-line EB110, which features a carbon-composite chassis and a 611-horsepower, V12 engine capable of hitting 350 kph. These autos--descendants of the old Bugattis so beloved by gangsters and movie stars--just entered production in December, 1992. Yet such bigwigs as the Sultan of Brunei and designer Ralph Lauren are already buying enough EB110s to generate an estimated $44 million in sales this year. Business is so good, says Chairman and majority shareholder Romano Artioli, that he's considering offering Bugatti shares in the U.S. this fall.