Bugatti Intended To Build The Galibier, But Things Got Ugly – Literally

The Bugatti 16C Galibier concept was unveiled over a decade ago and it instantly spawned speculation about a possible production variant.

While that obviously never happened, Hagerty says the rumors were correct and Bugatti intended to produce the Galibier once the Veyron went out of production.

So what caused the change in plans? A series of “far-reaching visual modifications” which were ordered by executives in response to feedback from consumers.

Also Read: Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept Breaks Cover With 16-Cylinder Engine

Among the changes mentioned by Hagerty are an extra 60 inches (1,524 mm) in length and nearly 6 inches (152 mm) in height. If those modifications weren’t dramatic enough, the model was also equipped with a “small, notchback-like trunk due to anticipated demand from buyers in the ever-important Chinese market.”

The resulting vehicle lost all of the Galibier’s charm and Bugatti Design Director Achim Anscheidt told the publication “The ill-fated demand for an uber Rolls-Royce Phantom with even more luxury and greater comfort in a package that could nonetheless take a corner with aplomb and cruise at 250 mph (402 km/h) was bound to fail.” He added the concept’s good looks got lost in a “patchwork of overly ambitious and conflicting Excel sheet demands.”

So how bad was it? Anscheidt said the model looked like a “dachshund” from the sides and a “bowler hat on wheels” from the back. It’s hard to imagine something that atrocious, but that’s what Bugatti customers apparently wanted.

Thankfully the monstrosity was killed by a “rather powerful and influential gentleman from Salzburg, Austria.” That, of course, appears to be a reference to Volkswagen’s Ferdinand Piëch.

With the Galibier dead, Bugatti could have found itself in the unenviable position of not having a car ready by the time the Veyron was phased out. That didn’t happen as Anscheidt and Walter de Silva could see which way the wind was blowing.

As the Galibier morphed into a bloated whale, a small group of people began working on a ‘Plan B’ in the summer of 2011. Unlike the Galibier, this model would be a direct successor to the Veyron.

While this car was never supposed to go into production, the Galibier was killed in May of 2012. Plan B was then presented and the rest is history as that model is now known as the Chiron.