Photo: Bugatti
Now that Bugatti has its former CEO back behind the wheel, it seems like the carmaker may just bring back the idea of a four-door model. Wolfgang Duerheimer recently dropped a hint on this, but the indication here is very subtle, so don’t expect to see one all that soon.
Durheimer was appointed CEO of Bugatti and Bentley back in 2010 and, among other projects, he supervised projects such as convertible incarnation of the Bentley Mulsanne and a Bugatti. Both were put on an indefinite hold when the executive left his position to become Audi’s head of research and development in September 2012.
Starting from June 1st 2014, Durheimer was brought back at the helm of Bentley and Bugatti and, as he said, was pretty frustrated to see no work had been carried out on the two aforementioned special projects.
While the CEO has already confirmed the Mulsanne convertible, which could be called Azure, will enter production, things are a bit more complicated with the four-door Bugatti. First of all, Wolfgang Schreiber, the man who helmed the Volkswagen Group’s two Big B brands while Durheimer was away, said there would be no four-door Bugatti last year.
Nonetheless, Durheimer recently told Automotive News (subscription required) that the model hasn’t been cancelled yet. The CEO said the project “is on ice”, explaining he periodically revisits the Galibier - this concept car, which you can see above, was presented at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2009.
Then there’s the question about the market demand. Anybody who has paid a bit of attention to the automotive arena over the last couple of years has noticed sedans have lost ground, with SUVs being the thing right now.
The best example of this comes from Lamborghini, which showcased the Estoque four-door concept at the 2008 edition of the Paris Motor Show, but axed the idea, coming up with the Urus SUV concept instead, which is expected to enter production in 2017.
Moreover, Bugatti is rather busy at the moment, as the French automaker is expected to come up with a successor for the Veyron next year, with spyshots revealing their efforts.
Starting from June 1st 2014, Durheimer was brought back at the helm of Bentley and Bugatti and, as he said, was pretty frustrated to see no work had been carried out on the two aforementioned special projects.
While the CEO has already confirmed the Mulsanne convertible, which could be called Azure, will enter production, things are a bit more complicated with the four-door Bugatti. First of all, Wolfgang Schreiber, the man who helmed the Volkswagen Group’s two Big B brands while Durheimer was away, said there would be no four-door Bugatti last year.
Nonetheless, Durheimer recently told Automotive News (subscription required) that the model hasn’t been cancelled yet. The CEO said the project “is on ice”, explaining he periodically revisits the Galibier - this concept car, which you can see above, was presented at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2009.
Then there’s the question about the market demand. Anybody who has paid a bit of attention to the automotive arena over the last couple of years has noticed sedans have lost ground, with SUVs being the thing right now.
The best example of this comes from Lamborghini, which showcased the Estoque four-door concept at the 2008 edition of the Paris Motor Show, but axed the idea, coming up with the Urus SUV concept instead, which is expected to enter production in 2017.
Moreover, Bugatti is rather busy at the moment, as the French automaker is expected to come up with a successor for the Veyron next year, with spyshots revealing their efforts.
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