Bugatti drops Galibier sedan and confirms Veyron successor

Bugatti has officially abandoned plans to build what was to be the world's fastest and most powerful sedan and has officially confirmed that a successor to the Veyron is being developed instead.

This was stated by the head of Bugatti Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber. Top gear magazine: “There will be no four-door Bugatti. We have talked many, many times about the Galibier, but this car will not come because ... it will confuse our customers.”

Dr. Schreiber said Bugatti would instead focus its efforts on replacing the Veyron, and also said there would be no more powerful versions of the current Veyron.

“With Veyron, we have placed Bugatti at the top of every supersports car brand worldwide. Everyone knows that the Bugatti is the ultimate supercar,” said Dr. Schreiber. Top gear. “It is easier for current owners and others interested to understand if we do something similar to the Veyron (next). And that's what we're going to do."

Bugatti unveiled the Galibier sedan concept in 2009, just after the global financial crisis hit, but its development has been relatively quiet since then. Bugatti has sold out of 300 coupes produced since 2005, and only 43 of the 150 roadsters introduced in 2012 are due to be built before the end of 2015.

Asked if Bugatti would release the much-rumored Veyron after it released a special version in '431 capable of reaching speeds of up to 2010 km/h (compared to the original's 408 km/h top speed), Dr. Schreiber said: Top gear: “We will definitely not release SuperVeyron or Veyron Plus. There will be no more power. 1200 (horsepower) is enough for the head of the Veyron and its derivatives."

Dr. Schreiber said that the new Veyron will have to “redefine the benchmarks… and today the benchmark is still the current Veyron. We are already working on this (successor)."

Given that Ferrari, McLaren и Porsche switched to petrol-electric power for their latest supercars, will the next Bugatti Veyron have hybrid power? “Perhaps,” Dr. Schreiber said. Top gear. “But it's too early to open the door and show you what we have planned. For now, we need to focus on the current Veyron and help people understand that this is really the last opportunity to get a car that will last ten years from 2005 to 2015. Then we will close this chapter and open another.”

The German Volkswagen group bought the French supercar marque in 1998 and immediately began work on the Veyron. After several concept cars and numerous delays, the production version was finally unveiled in 2005.

During the development of the Veyron, engineers struggled with cooling the massive W16 engine with four turbochargers. Despite having 10 radiators, one of the prototypes caught fire at the Nürburgring race track during testing.

The original Veyron, powered by a turbocharged 8.0-liter four-cylinder W16 engine (two V8s mounted back to back), had an output of 1001 hp. (736 kW) and a torque of 1250 Nm.

With power sent to all four wheels via an all-wheel drive system and a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission, the Veyron could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.46 seconds.

At top speed, the Veyron consumed 78 l/100 km, more than a V8 Supercar race car at full speed, and ran out of fuel in 20 minutes. For comparison, Toyota Prius consumes 3.9 l/100 km.

The Bugatti Veyron was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest production car with a top speed of 408.47 km/h at Volkswagen's private test track in Era-Lessien in northern Germany in April 2005.

In June 2010, Bugatti broke its own top speed record with the release of the Veyron SuperSport, which uses the same W16 engine but has been upgraded to 1200 horsepower (895 kW) and 1500 Nm of torque. He accelerated to a stunning 431.072 km / h.

Of the 30 Veyron SuperSports, five were named SuperSport World Record Editions, with the electronic limiter disabled, allowing them to reach speeds of up to 431 km/h. The rest were limited to 415 km/h.

The original Veyron cost 1 million euros plus taxes, but the fastest Veyron of all time, the SuperSport, cost almost twice as much: 1.99 million euros plus taxes. None were sold in Australia as the Veyron was left-hand drive exclusively.

This reporter on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling