Bugatti Galibier gets trademarked

Bugatti has registered the design of the Bugatti 16C Galibier with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

All through the Summer there was speculation about a new Bugatti saloon. Would it be the Bugatti Royale for the 21st century? We pondered and speculated for all we were worth and we finally discovered in September that the new Bugatti was in fact the Bugatti Galibier - a four-door version of the Veyron. It featured the same – but slightly de-tuned – engine as the Veyron and looked very credible.

Bugatti has been adamant that the Galibier is just a concept, with no plans for production until there is positive feedback. But we are doubtful. We’re still convinced that the Galibier is just one of three new cars Bugatti will launch in the coming years.

Veyron production ends in 2012, and we expect the 16C Galibier to be ready to go at that point. But we also expect to see a new, lighter, quicker Veyron coming along after that and finally the ultimate Super-Saloon – the new Bugatti Royale. That would give Bugatti a credible range of three cars as we head in to the middle of the second decade of the 21st century.

But for now, Bugatti are taking no chances with the design of the Galibier. Probably as a result of the number of ‘Clones’ of high-end cars that are sprouting up round the world (well, in China anyway – the Geely Rolls Royce Phantom being one of the more infamous) Bugatti has registered the 16C Galibier design with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Not that it will stop the cloners. But it does show how serious Bugatti are about the supposed ‘Concept’ Galibier.