some said the bare aluminium flanks were a particularly bad idea

Remember the Galibier? After Bugatti gave its radical four-door saloon its world premiere during the marque’s centenary celebrations last September, the concept then went on a world tour to canvass opinion from selected potential customers as to whether Bugatti should swallow a brave pill and build it. Or not.

The results from the various presentations are now in and it seems that while the Galibier was reasonably well received by customers in the US and here in the Middle East, the big fastback saloon didn’t go down quite so well in Europe…

What the Europeans said was, while they liked the idea of a very fast, front-engined four-seater, they didn’t go a bundle on the design of this particular Galibier concept, finding it rather too upright and unremarkable, with some commenting that the bare aluminium flanks were a particularly bad idea.

That’s why Bugatti has gone back to the drawing board and decided to create an exciting, all-black, coupe version of the Galibier, which is being given its world premiere at an invitation-only presentation on the eve of the Geneva show.

After the glitzy unveiling, the car will not go on to the show itself but will be used for further customer evaluation at invite-only events over the coming months.

Bugatti argues that it doesn’t want to show the Galibier concept in public yet as it is far too early to say whether it will be going into production. Veyron production is due to end in late 2011, so any potential replacement won’t see the light of day until 2012 at the earliest.

From the pictures we’ve seen, the swoopy coupe is far more in keeping with Bugatti’s ideals and, with around 800bhp from its twin-supercharged front-mounted W16 engine, it should prove pretty special to drive, too.

Shame we won’t be able to find out for ourselves until 2012 at the earliest, but the good news is that the coupe looks a far better successor to the Veyron than the original Galibier ever was. Let’s just hope potential customers agree.