After a number of years of vaporware, Bugatti Galibier development is nearly production ready with all the extravagant nonsense we haven't seen since the "Roaring Twenties." Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Düheimer confirmed that the Galibier project is being pursued "with high energy."
What's more Dürheimer tells us that Bugatti is currently deciding whether to release the Galibier before or after the upcoming Veryon successor.
Essentially, the Bugatti Galibier is meant to represent the ultimate Bugatti: "simply the best luxury sedan in the world (and) the most beautiful large four-door sedan in the world." As it has been with the Bugatti Veyron, Galibier embraces the idea that there can never be too much of a good thing. Standards of engineering are expected to surpass imagination and Dürheimer even promises that the Galibier will surge to no less than 235 mph.
First introduced during an invitation-only event held at Bugatti's Molsheim, France, headquarters back in 2009, the Galibier boasted outrageous number including a 16-cylinder engine producing nearly 1400-hp. While it's safe to say the the Galibier wouldn't offer figures that surpass those of the Veyron Supersport, at least not immediately, Dürheimer did confirm that the Galibier will make no less than 1, 000-hp.
Since 2009, the Galibier had been massaged continually to the point that the upcoming production vehicle will be completely new from the 2009 concept. That said, Bugatti insists that the actual car design and proportions will stay intact. Prototyping work on the Galibier has been executed by Italdesign-Giugiaro. A legendary icon of automotive haute couture, Dürheimer said coyly, "A Bugatti.... is finished when the artist has signed it off."
No doubt, Bugatti parent company Volkswagen is watching the Galibier's development with the utmost interest. As the company looks for ways to boast technological supremacy, hybrid drivetrain possibilities have been raised a number of times. Despite the pressure, Dürheimer insists, "Right now, the priority is sheer power, not a hybrid." Regardless, the technological push is all but inevitable.
Even though the industry is no closer than it's ever been on learning substantial details about Bugatti's next big thing, it's a positive sign to learn how actively committed Volkswagen and Bugatti is to what is one of the most impractical and expensive vehicles ever conceived.
However, as past history has allowed us to witness the Galibier as an on, off, on-again, off-again, and shelved project, we'll err on the conservative side and the call the latest news of the Galibier "certified-confirmed, probably... "
[Source: Car And Driver]
