Bugatti to develop luxury saloon

Bugatti will develop a new luxury sedan for 2014, based on the Audi A8, according to a report by German magazine Der Spiegel. The report also says that the VW Group board has decided that Bugatti will cease production of super sports coupes, such as the Veyron, by 2014 so that the luxury brand can focus on its new sedan model.

The specialty marque is not turning a profit for parent company Volkswagen AG, and will be required to pull its weight within the group and increase its sales volume significantly. Currently, Bugatti is the lowest volume VW Group brand. But the new sedan model, while being built on a shared platform with the A8, may still take its inspiration from the 16C Galiber Concept (pictured here) which Bugatti unveiled in 2009. Last year, it was revealed by our colleagues at Autocar UK that VW was considering taking the concept to production.

The 16C Galibier concept is an ultra-luxurious, all-wheel drive sedan powered by an 8.0 liter, 16-cylinder engine - the same power plant as in the Veyron but configured to produce an output somewhere between 800 PS (789 bhp / 588 kW) and the Veyron's 1000 PS (986 bhp / 735 kW).

Source: Der Spiegel