Bugatti Galiber

Yep, it's a good time to be one of the haves. Volkswagen-owned Bugatti, maker of the wickedly fast and pricey Veyron, this week unveiled an ultra-luxury sedan for the upmost echelon of car buyers. It's the Galibier, which takes its name from a pass in the Alps traversed during the Tour de France. But does such a machine still have a place in this age of downscaled expectations and environmental responsibility? Before you answer, that's an entirely rhetorical question.

The Galibier shares with the Veyron its engine, an exercise in extreme motorworks: an 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 producing 1001 horsepower (in the Veyron). That's enough to get the two-door Veyron to 253 miles per hour, though reports indicate the Galibier will only top out at a mere 217. Unlike the Veyron, the Galibier's engine is front-mounted and Bugatti says it can run on ethanol. Last year UK based TopGear raced a Veyron with a Raptor jet which makes for some entertaining viewing!