BUGATTI UNVEILS THE GALIBIER 16C 4-DOOR CONCEPT

They wanted to call it the Caliber, but Dodge stole that name for its smallish hatchback. So Bugatti changed a couple letters around and got Galibier.

Okay, it's not a funny joke. And anybody with an ounce of French language training knows that the more appropriate pronunciation for this car is Gal-ib-err but Gahl-eeb-yay. Why so much talk about the name?

Well, we don't know much else about this four-door Bugatti. Its proportions are kind of; a little bit; sort of similar to the Lamborghini Estoque concept. But those very same proportions aren't unlike those of the Aston Martin Rapide. Perhaps this is just the nature of ultra-expensive sedans.

The Galibier was introduced to the elite in Bugatti's home of Molsheim in the Alsace region of France. An 8-litre sixteen-cylinder engine uses two-stage supercharging (a la VW's twin-charged Golf?) and can run on E85 fuel. Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani created a removable clock that can be worn on the owner's wrist. Rather gaudily, Ettore Bugatti's signature sits on a panel atop the glovebox. Oh, and about that name: Galibier is the name of a stage in the Tour de France as well as a particular version of Bugatti's old Type 57.

MPG IN CAR & DRIVER DECEMBER

Under the right foot of numerous Car & Driver editors, efficiency is hard to come by. Nevertheless, some cars perform above all reasonable expectations.

For example, Chevrolet's basic Corvette - upgraded with the Z51 suspension package as well as dual-mode exhaust for 6 more horses - spent an afternoon lapping Gratton Raceway and sipped just a gallon of fuel for every 25 miles driven. True, it wasn't just hot laps. But still, this is a car with 436 horsepower, a top speed of 186 miles per hour, and a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds. 25 miles per gallon? That's just 1mpg less than the Vette's official EPA highway figure. 

Not much worse is the Corvette Z06 with 505 horsepower, an extra 12mph at the top end, and a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds. That Corvette travelled 20 miles on a gallon. Somewhat worse was the $117,750 Corvette ZR1. 638 horses need to fed. Apparently, they need to be fed a lot. Every 12 miles required a gallon.

That's still better than C/D's Bugatti Veyron tester. True, with over 1000 horsepower and almost 4500 pounds, the Bugatti is expected to guzzle. Indeed, smack dab in the middle of 8mpg and 14mpg (the Veyron's EPA city and highway figures, respectively) sits the 11 miles per gallon attained by Car and Driver. Not bad.

Others from C/D's December issue include:

- Honda's new Fit, in Sport trim with a 5-speed manual, at 31mpg.

- HKS's turbocharged first-gen Fit, at 24mpg.

- a Suzuki SX4 hatchback from Road Race Motorsports at 25mpg.

- C/D's long-term diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI, at 22mpg.

- Volkswagen's Tiguan SEL 4Motion at 22mpg

- and the rotary-driven Mazda RX-8 R3 at 15mpg.