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Bugatti pulls plug on Galibier but could ‘plug in’ a Veyron replacement

Nick Jaynes
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The Galibier - at 800 hp - didn't have enough power to become a production Bugatti. Image used with permission by copyright holder

We know what you’re thinking. You want a Bentley Mulsanne but it’s a bit too…small. You like the looks of the Bugatti Veyron but it’s a bit too…powerful. You then, sir, were the ideal buyer for the Bugatti Galibier.

I’m afraid I’ve some bad news. The latest Bugatti CEO has scrapped your dream machine. That’s right. Word has come from the Bugatti brass that the highest end of the Volkswagen empire will not be producing the Galibier big-bodied sedan.

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Just as a refresher, the Galibier was to be the next high-end Bugatti model, positioned for some reason above the Veyron. Built on the Audi platform that underpins what feels like dozens of big sedans, the Galibier was to be powered by the Veyron’s quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine with two of the turbos left on the design floor.

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Unlike the 1,000+ horsepower Veyron, the Galibier would only pump out some 800 horses. Smartly, the former Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer decided no Bugatti – four-door or otherwise – would sport fewer than 1,000 horsepowers.

Not long after that, though, that Wolfgang was replaced by another Wolfgang. This time, Wolfgang Schreiber would take the helm and scrap the big Bugatti altogether. Believing that Bugatti didn’t have the buyer base to support both a full-size sedan and a hypercar, Schreiber pulled the plug, according to Motor Trend.

Don’t get too disappointed Bugatti fans. Schreiber instead wants to focus on a Veyron replacement.

What might that look like? It’ll surely have that iconic flattened oval grille. What lies behind that distinctive grille, however, is not yet known. I wager it’ll be a hybrid powertrain.

Now that Bugatti’s relatives Porsche and Audi have plug-in hybrid supercars, the Sport quattro concept and the 918 Spyder specifically, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Bugatti take that technology and run with it.

Bugatti is in the final throes of the Veyron with its Vitesse model run, which it seems to be dragging out as long as possible. So you won’t likely see a Veyron replacement before 2020.

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Nick Jaynes
Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
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