Bugatti Galibier 16C – nou model Bugatti

Publicat: 16 03. 2010, 09:00

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As the climax of its centenary celebration ceremonies, Bugatti
Automobiles S.A.S. presented customers and opinion-makers with the
Bugatti 16 C Galibier concept, intended to be the most exclusive,
elegant, and powerful four door automobile in the world last
weekend in Molsheim. At the historic site where Ettore Bugatti once
laid the cornerstone of his company, Bugatti’s current president,
Dr. Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen emphasised that the Galibier is one of
several concept studies with which the company is considering for
the future of the Bugatti marque.

Art – Forme – Technique: those are the brand values to which
Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean oriented themselves in order to
develop even more powerful engines and even more noble body designs
for each new model, which were without equal in quality, handling,
speed and elegance. In the process, they experimented again and
again without compromise with new materials; thus was Bugatti one
of the first

manufacturers to use aluminium parts for bodies, engine blocks
and wheels.

Art – Forme – Technique are also the brand values to which the
design and engineering team of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. oriented
themselves in the development of the Galibier. With this new
four-door
concept car, Bugatti assumes anew a leading role in the use of new
material combinations. Thus the body is constructed of handmade
carbon fibre parts coloured dark blue so that, when illuminated,
the woven structure shimmers through strikingly. Carbon fibre not
only possesses unusually great rigidity but is also especially
light. The wings and doors are out of polished aluminium.

The Galibier’s design masters the challenge of uniting
sportiness with the comfort and elegance of a modern four-door
saloon. The basic architecture picks up on the torpedo-like
character of the Type 35,
which was already revived in the Veyron, and reinterprets it. With
the typical Bugatti radiator grille, big round LED headlights and
the clamshell running the length of the vehicle which became
synonymous
with the brand identity under Jean Bugatti in the Type 57, this car
transports the Bugatti genes into the modern world.

Beneath the bonnet, which folds back from both sides, there
resides a 16-cylinder, 8-litre engine with twostage supercharging.
What makes this engine special is that it was developed as a
flex-fuel engine and can optional be run on ethanol. Four-wheel
drive, specially developed ceramic brakes and a new suspension
design enable the agile, always-sure handling of a saloon of this
size.

The interior reflects the elemental design of the exterior. The
dash panel has been reduced to the essential; two centrally located
main instruments keep even the rear passengers constantly informed
of the actual speed and previous performance. Parmigiani, the Swiss
maker of fine watches, created the removable Reverso Tourbillon
clock for the Galibier, which may be worn on the wrist thanks to a
cleverly designed leather strap.

„Galibier” is not just the name of one of the most difficult
alpine passes along the Tour de France but, in its time, was a
version of the four door Type 57 unequalled in sportiness and
elegance.

Segmentul Coupe-urilor cu patru uşi se va
cutremura serios, seismul de multe grade pe scara Richter se va
numi Bugatti Galibier 16C. Cunoscut până acum drept
Bordeaux, acest model va fi omologul lui Veyron în universul
maşinilor cu patru uşi
. De fapt, toate indiciile estetice,
trădează, aşa cum era şi firesc, apartenenţa la specia supremă,
Veyron.

Vine, de asemenea, în schema cromatică cu două nuanţe, cromat şi
negru. Partea „bling” este de fapt aluminiu polişat, iar partea
închisă la culoare este un material denumit CFRP (plastic
consolidat cu fibră de carbon). Partea frontală prezintă aceeaşi
grilă de tip potcoavă , încardrată de blocuri optice mai mari şi de
LED-urile nelipsite.

Spatele are tot o curbură amplă, dar blocurile au, aparent, o
arhitectură mai convenţională. Totuşi dacă vă aduceţi aminte
teaserul oficial, convenţionalitatea aparentă se transformă în
nonconformism, pentru că acest model are 8 evacuări şi al
treilea stop de frână se prelinge de la plafon perpendicular pe
baza lunetei
.

În interior, Galibier poate fi comparat cu cele
mai luxoase palate din Corsica, oferind o atmosferă aproape
monarhală
. Lemnul este omniprezent, în mijloc tronează
vitezometrul şi ceasul care arată câţi cai trag din răsputeri la un
moment dat. Aceste indicatoare au geamuri de cristal şi poartă
semnătura exclusivistul creator de orologii elveţian
Parmigiani.

Designul general este unul mai elegant decât la Bugatti Veyron,
fiind sofisticat, exclusivist, dar mai puţin sportiv. După cum se
poate observa, aluminiul sau fibra de carbon nu se regăsesc în
peisaj.

Nu ar putea fi regele junglei, fără o inimă pe măsură şi aceasta
va fi probabil cea a lui Veyron, adică a aceeaşi uzină W16
quad-turb
o. Am aflat şi că bestia va oferi aceleaşi
prestaţii de invidiat ca şi Veyron, dezvoltând 1001 CP şi un cuplu
de 1250 Nm.

Preţul se pare că nu va fi însă băgat la apă şi se va cifra mult
peste milionul de euro. Acest factor va influenţa însă şi dacă şi
în câte exemplare va fi fabricat modelul, în funcţie de feedbackul
celor care şi-ar putea permite acest diamant pe patru roţi. Cel mai
probabil acest model va fi lansat la Salonul de la Los Angeles.