Over the past several years, during the production of the Bugatti Veyron, the company teased their strong interests in producing what was essentially going to be a sedan version of the Veyron. They even made a concept version to prove their seriousness towards the matter, called the Galibier.
Speaking with Drive, Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer commented on Bugatti’s future plans, the most significant of which is a strategy that will make the French brand more financially independent from parent company Volkswagen AG in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal that has plagued the German auto conglomerate. One possible way for Bugatti to secure this financial and operations independency is to add another model to its lineup.
Durheimer confirmed that the Galibier is one of four models the company is considering. As for the other three, the Bugatti CEO said he still couldn’t talk about any of them, but the report indicates that another option is a luxury SUV that would compete against the Rolls-Royce Callinan. There’s also talk of an all-electric luxury car and the most intriguing of them all, an “entry-level” supercar that would sit below the Chiron.
Despite the rumors surrounding these potential models, Durheimer seems to have a soft spot for the Galibier because it has, in his own words, “some revolutionary approaches that no one to date has yet dared to place into production.” What those approaches are is anybody’s guess, but it is worth noting that Durheimer has been championing for the Galibier dating back to his first stint as Bugatti’s top boss. Now that he’s back in the company after spending some time running Audi, the possibility of (finally!) seeing the Galibier in the flesh is as big as it’s ever been. All that’s left is to see where this road Bugatti is leading us in ends up.
Agencies/Canadajournal