Bugatti has released new video and images of its magnificent Galibier 16C Concept aka the ultimate super sedan, as rumors fly around that the production version of the car will be on display at the upcoming L.A. Autoshow. The Galibier is awesome, no doubt about it. It shares the same W16 engine with the Veyron which makes it the fastest sedan in the world, and it is as luxurious as Burj Al Arab hotel. But VW officials have not yet made up their minds to put it into production mainly becasue like the Veyron, they won’t be able to make much money out of it!
It’s ironic that the most expensive car in the world is a total financial failure for the company! but it’s true. Some say that making every Veyron costs VW more than twice as much as the car’s selling price. But then they have actually fulfilled its production plan and have also made a number of special editions! After all, for the Galibier, it’s going to be tougher because if it’s going into production, it will come out with a price tag even bigger than Veyron’s!
Press Release:
Bugatti presents 16C Galibier Concept in Los Angeles
The most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four-door automobile in the world
Los Angeles, November 5, 2009 – What was revealed at the climax of Bugatti’s centenary celebrations in September at its headquarters in Molsheim, was today presented to customers and opinion-makers in Los Angeles: the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept – designed as the most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four-door automobile in the world. At the prestigious Ace Gallery in Beverly Hills, Bugatti’s Director of Sales, Marketing and After Sales, Alasdair Stewart, emphasised that the Galibier is just one of several concept studies that the company is considering for the future of the Bugatti marque.
Arte – Forme – Technique: those are the brand values by which Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean oriented themselves in order to develop even more powerful engines and even more noble body designs for each new model, which were unequaled in quality, handling, speed and elegance. In the process, they experimented again and again with new materials; thus was Bugatti one of the first manufacturers to use aluminium parts for bodies, engine blocks and wheels.
Arte – Forme – Technique are also the brand values by which the design and engineering team at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. oriented themselves in the development of the Galibier. With this new four-door concept car, Bugatti assumes once again a leading role in the use of new material combinations. For example, the body is constructed of handmade carbon fibre parts coloured dark blue so that, when illuminated, the woven structure strikingly shimmers through. Carbon fibre not only possesses exceptionally great rigidity but is also especially light. The wings and doors are made out of polished aluminium.
The Galibier’s design masters the challenge of uniting sportiness with the comfort and elegance of a modern four-door saloon. The basic architecture picks up on the torpedo-like character of the Type 35, which was already revived in the Veyron, and reinterprets it. With the typical Bugatti radiator grille, unusual, round LED headlights and the clamshell running the length of the vehicle, which became synonymous with the brand identity under Jean Bugatti in the Type 57, this car transports the Bugatti genes into the modern world.
Beneath the bonnet, which folds back from both sides, resides a 16-cylinder, 8-litre engine with two-stage supercharging. What makes this engine so special is that it was developed as a flex-fuel engine and can optionally be run on ethanol. Four-wheel drive, specially developed ceramic brakes and a new suspension design enable the agile, always-sure handling of a saloon of this size.
The interior reflects the elemental design of the exterior. The dashboard has been reduced to the essential; two centrally located main instruments keep even the rear passengers constantly informed of the current speed and previous performance. Parmigiani, the Swiss maker of fine watches, created a removable tourbillion clock for the Galibier, which may be worn on the wrist thanks to a cleverly designed leather strap.
“Galibier” is not just the name of one of the most difficult alpine passes along the Tour de France but,
in its time, was a version of the four-door Type 57, unequaled in sportiness and elegance.
