This past March at the Geneva Motor Show, the Swedish super car company Keonigsegg revealed the NLV Quant electric sedan. Well now it is the exotic Italian coachbuilder Bugatti’s turn, and Ettore’s original brand has done quite an impressive job on the all new Bugatti 16 C Galibier concept that was unveiled this past weekend in Molsheim. According to the automaker the upcoming super car will become "the most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four door automobile in the world."
The Galibier’s design is based on the Bugatti Type 35, a model that also inspired the 1001 HP Bugatti Veyron->ke1112 super car. The 16 C concept features the traditional Bugatti radiator complimented by big round LED lit headlamps and the clamshell running the length of the vehicle which became synonymous with the brand identity under Jean Bugatti in the Type 57.
Under the bonnet, the 16 C concept can stand up to the almighty Veyron, becasue Bugatti has placed a 8.0 Liter 16 cylinder engine boosted with a two stage supercharging system, that features an ethanol mode. The Galiber was designed with smooth lines that will allow it to slipstream past the competition should it ever go into production. The concept also features a four wheel drive, a purpose built performance suspension and very exotic ceramic brakes to ensure that the 16 C Galiber can handle the speeds the pair of blowers up front are going to generate.
The interior of the 16 C Galiber concept reflects the pure and simple design of the exterior, because after all there is something beautiful about being basic. The dash been reduced to include only the essential. Two centrally located dials keep even the rear passengers up to speed about the details of their experience. There is even an Aston Martin rivaling timepiece that has been integrated into the super car concept. Parmigiani, the Swiss maker of fine watches, created the removable Reverso Tourbillon clock for the Galibier, which may be worn on the wrist thanks to a cleverly designed leather strap.
Updated 03/10/2010: Bugatti has revealed a new image gallery of the 16C Galibier. Check the gallery to see them all.
Press release after the jump.
2010 Bugatti 16 C Galibier
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- Model: 2010 Bugatti 16 C Galibier
- [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Press release
As the climax of its centenary celebration ceremonies, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presented customers and opinion-makers with the Bugatti 16 C Galibier concept, intended to be the most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four door automobile in the world last weekend in Molsheim. At the historic site where Ettore Bugatti once laid the cornerstone of his company, Bugatti’s current president, Dr. Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen emphasised that the Galibier is one of several concept studies with which the company is considering for the future of the Bugatti marque.
Art - Forme - Technique: those are the brand values to 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 without equal in quality, handling, speed and elegance. In the process, they experimented again and again without compromise with new materials; thus was Bugatti one of the first manufacturers to use aluminium parts for bodies, engine blocks and wheels.
Art - Forme - Technique are also the brand values to which the design and engineering team of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. oriented themselves in the development of the Galibier. With this new four-door concept car, Bugatti assumes anew a leading role in the use of new material combinations. Thus the body is constructed of handmade carbon fibre parts coloured dark blue so that, when illuminated, the woven structure shimmers through strikingly. Carbon fibre not only possesses unusually great rigidity but is also especially light. The wings and doors are 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, big 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, there resides a 16-cylinder, 8-litre engine with twostage supercharging. What makes this engine special is that it was developed as a flex-fuel engine and can optional 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 dash panel has been reduced to the essential; two centrally located main instruments keep even the rear passengers constantly informed of the actual speed and previous performance. Parmigiani, the Swiss maker of fine watches, created the removable Reverso Tourbillon 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 unequalled in sportiness and elegance.