Start with what the Bugatti 16C Galibier is: a 5-door fastback sedan with 8.0 L twin-supercharged Volkswagen WR16, built from 2009, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer.
How it came about
The Bugatti 16C Galibier is a luxury 5-door fastback concept car built by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. It was unveiled at an invitation-only show held at the Molsheim, France assembly salon on September 12, 2009.
The 16C Galibier was to use a front-mounted, 8.0 L twin-supercharged W16 engine delivering power via permanent all-wheel drive. A production version of the 16C Galibier concept was initially expected to reach the market around 2014 to 2015; however in September 2013, Bugatti announced that it will be "pulling out" of the Galibier project in favour of the Veyron's successor, the Chiron.
The hardware
The engine is 8.0 L twin-supercharged Volkswagen WR16. Drive goes through a 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic. The layout matters: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
In the Bugatti line-up the Bugatti 16C Galibier has a clear place: it replaced the Bugatti EB 218; the factory was Molsheim, Alsace, France. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Nissan Leaf, the Lexus LFA. Its Bugatti stablemates include the Bugatti 57 Galibier and the Bugatti 8-cylinder line.