We extensively covered the Bugatti 16C Galibier — the world’s first (possible) $1.5 million luxury car — when the storied French brand was first considering followups to its game-changing Veyron supercar. Except then the 16c Galibier was just a concept — a proof of life vehicle that the halo Bugatti brand was shopping around to gauge customer and market interest. We were among the first people on earth to see the car, and our review went from bashing its horrendous chrome-sided colorway (it was actually polished aluminum) to gushing about its interior appointments. Well now it looks like Bugatti is putting its money where its silver spoon-fed mouth is, and is ramping up to bring tht 16C Galibier to production for 2013. As we’ve noted before, the 16C Galibier features a beautiful butterfly hood, LED headlights, eight tailpipe exhaust system and a split rear window — a stirring echo from its legendary Type 57 Atlantic forefather. Inside, the luxurious burled walnut-trimmed cabin has individual seating for four, a floating center console, and a stunning removable Swiss-made Parmigiani Fleurier Tourbillon watch (which we’ve covered separately). Power comes from a massive 8.0-liter W16-cylinder engine with two-stage supercharging, lifted entirely from the game-changing Bugatti Veyron. Reports are that Bugatti may drop a couple turbochargers, however, in which case the flex-fuel engine will likely produce either around 800 or 1,000 horsepower. Either way, the 16C Galibier will be stopped with carbon ceramic brakes. Another nice touch is Bugatti’s inclusion of a beautiful full-grain leather luggage set that comes with the vehicle. Open the suitcase to see an elaborate etching of Bugatti glory days in its cover, revealing a full set of racing apparel (gloves, jacket, stopwatch, shoes and even a helmet with goggles). Pricetag looks to hover around $1.4 million, making it by far the most expensive 4-door luxury car in the world. Will people pay the price? With 1,000 horses under the hood, I’m thinking that won’t be a problem…

via Bloomberg