The question of what Bugatti is going to do with itself once it completes the Veyron's run of 300 cars (and potentially 150 Grand Sports) may have been answered today when Bugatti President (and Bentley Chief Executive) Franz Josef Paefgen unveiled the concept 16C Galibier at the company headquarters is Dorlisheim. With the Veyron's W16 engine turned around and put under the hood, and here fitted with two-stage superchargers (instead of the Veyron's four turbochargers), the Galibier will have ample low-end torque at low engine rpm, which is more fitting for a four-passenger car. Though Wolfgang Schreiber, Bugatti's head of technical development, declined to be specific, you can figure on between 920 and 1,000 pound-feet of torque. The company is targeting a top speed of 240 mph, which would handily establish the Galibier as the fastest four-door car in the world.

Bugatti has no clear idea what they should charge for such a car. The Veyron costs about $1.8 million, depending on the exchange rate at the moment. Paefgen said he was thinking "in the neighborhood" of the Veyron. Some neighborhood.

The Galibier -- the name comes from a French Alpine pass that was applied to Bugatti's historic four-door saloons -- is by no means a sure thing. Paefgen said the company will be taking the car to owner events and special showings around the world to gauge the potential market. Then Bugatti will have to take its case to the VW Group board for approval. The soonest a decision could come is next spring; after that, according to Schreiber, it would take three years to bring the car to market.

In person, the concept car -- overseen by Bugatti exterior designer Achim Anscheidt -- is stunning. It's a little larger than the Bentley Continental GT, with broad, scalloped flanks rolling into the front wings, all in polished aluminum, and the remaining bodywork is fabricated out of tinted carbon fiber. The structural chassis will be aluminum and carbon. Schreiber says the car will be lighter than any comparable four-door car, but what car he might be thinking of escapes me. The fastback rear design strongly evokes the Type 57 SC Atlantic with a slight raised spine limned in LED, the curvature of the trunk lid opening echoing the Atlantic's trunk lid, and the quad exhausts -- two sets, for a total of eight tailpipes.The interior is similarly spectacular, with a burled walnut surfboard-like console running between the front and rear cabin. There are only two instruments in the dash -- a speedo and tach. In front of the driver is an LCD screen with a kind of iPhone interface, allowing drivers to leaf through applications.In a token bid of environmental responsibility, the car will run on petrol and be compatible with bioethanol, but you can tell talking to the Bugatti execs that their hearts simply are not into the carbon equation.Quote of the day: "Our customers have said to us, when my neighbors ask about carbon, you [Bugatti] must come up with an answer," said Paefgen.--Dan Neil

Full release to follow.