It was also noted that the head of Bugatti and Bentley, Wolfgang Duerheimer, has been pushing VW Group managers to approve production of the Galibier since taking charge. Now, the German company has finally agreed to build the ultra luxurious sedan, which will be produced at the Molsheim factory in France, where the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is currently made.
The facility will need to be updated for the new model, so first deliveries won't be made before 2013 or 2014, the same sources said. The Galibier will be powered by the 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine from the Veyron 16.4, fitted with two stage supercharging. However, in the Galibier, the engine will also be able to run on ethanol.
The sports saloon will be four-wheel drive, just like the Veyron 16.4, which will be discontinued when production of the Galibier starts.
Bugatti began building the Veyron in 2005 at a rate of 50 cars per year with overall output to be limited to 300 units in order to maintain the exclusivity of the hyper car.
By Dan Mihalascu