Bugatti 16C Galibier

Bugatti 16C Galibier concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

AutoWeek is reporting that the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept is going into production, and the ultralux bruiser will arrive in 2013. There remains 40 examples of the Veyron scheduled to be built, but when that is finished, AW says the Galibier will be prepped for a run of 300 units.

Instead of four turbochargers, though, the sedan will employ two superchargers affixed to the W16 engine and throw down something in the neighborhood of 800 horsepower. And compared to the super-duper coupe that got this whole thing (re)started, it'll be something of a bargain: just $1.5 million.

Might want to place an order for a bigger piggy bank...

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot

If you've been wondering what former General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot, The Detroit News has the skinny for you. Henderson is now headed to Sunoco to fill in as the company's senior vice president, at least for now. The company is currently planning to spin off its SunCoke Energy arm during the first half of 2011, and when that happens, Henderson will become the subsidiary's chairman and CEO.

SunCoke produces metallurgical coke used to manufacture steel. The company currently operates plants in Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and is currently building a second, high-capacity facility in the Buckeye State. That plant, in Middleton, is slated to produce 550,000 tons of coke while at max capacity.

Coke is formed by super heating coal to bond carbon and ash. The process burns off contaminates like water and coal tar to create an energy-dense fuel. Byproducts of the process are typically used to generate electricity, as in the case with the Middleton plant.

Henderson, a long-time GM man, held the company's reins for a short time starting in 2009, but was replaced with Ed Whitacre amidst concerns that the company's turnaround wasn't moving fast enough.

CCI Wheel Cover - 14 in., ABS plastic, 10 hole

CCI Wheel Cover - 14 in., ABS plastic, 10 hole
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CCI AFTERMARKET WHEEL COVERS, SILVER, SET OF 4 -- 14 in. diameter; Does not include OE-style center cap; 10-hole design; This set of aftermarket wheel covers inexpensively enhances the look of your wheels; Features wire ring with factory type retention for easy and reliable installation.

Panoz launches newest sports car

The spirit of Le Mans--along with the spirit of the out-of-production Panoz Esperante--lives on in Panoz Auto Development's latest creation, the Abruzzi.

Named for the people from the south-central Abruzzo region of Italy, the Abruzzi draws its inspiration from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the car is making its world debut on Tuesday, and its styling from the 1935 Delahaye Type 135 tear-drop coupe.

"It is about the true spirit of Le Mans, a car you can drive from home to the racetrack, race it, and then drive home again," Panoz chairman and American Le Mans Series owner Don Panoz said.

A three-year production run for the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" road car begins late this summer, and Panoz said his company will build just 81--equal to the number of 24-hour races run at Le Mans since 1923. Each will carry cues from an individual Le Mans race year.

Panoz will homologate the car for Europe, and it will be sold in European countries only, priced at 400,000 euros ($480,000). Panoz refused to comment about whether he plans a U.S. version.

The Abruzzi is powered by a front-mounted, supercharged Corvette racing engine, a 6.2-liter V8 producing 640 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Power runs to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transaxle. A key technical improvement over the Esperante is a unique "Trifecta" cooling system, with rear-mounted radiators in addition to cooling systems that reduce temperatures of coolant as it flows in and out of the radiator. Panoz said that re-locating the radiators to the rear of the car improves top speed by cutting down on aerodynamic drag.

The car's body panels are formed from REAMS, short for Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System, a composite-like material that is lighter, more durable and easier to repair than carbon fiber.

An Abruzzi GT2 race car likely will run its first event at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, followed by a complete American Le Mans Series campaign in 2011 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June.

Ford Start concept new

2010 Ford Start concept – click above for high-res image gallery

While Volvo's fate isn't perfectly clear yet, it appears that everyone might have been best served by Ford severing ties with the foreign branches of its Premier Automotive Group: Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar. True, Ford didn't get to fully benefit from the labor it put into the cars those brands are unveiling to accolades right now, but it spared itself the continued financial and brain drain on its core brands.

It was a drain that was also felt by the company's design arm, headed by J Mays. Referring to how thin The Blue Oval's design resources were stretched, Mays called the efforts "an inch deep and a mile wide." Part of it was that there were simply so many new models to keep track of, the other part being that so many of those cars had such vastly different requirements – an Aston couldn't look like a Lincoln, and even though an Aston could use Volvo's switchgear it shouldn't look anything like S80 or an XF.

Now the team can focus on wrapping the company's products and concept cars (like the Ford Start shown above) in the "Post-Kinetic" design language developed a few years ago. That, Mays says, is also easier because of Ford's rationalization of its platforms – something that also could not have been as completely without selling the company's PAG brands.

Gallery: Ford Start Concept

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Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition

Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition - Click image for high resolution images

If you've been patiently waiting - patience - hands on the new Black Carbon Edition of the Aston Martin DBS will be, should wait until the summer to take over. Oh, and a hundred dollars a suitcase full of banknotes. But if all you want is a look, we have good news for you. Because no matter where you are in the mainland United States, the probability that one carbon DBS coming to a city near you.

In a special demonstration of an exclusive partner of Aston audio Bang & Olufsen - the 13 speakers, 1000 watt sound system is DBS - a series of special tours organized carbon black America. Along the way are struck New York, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. So if you live in Oregon, you're covered.

If you do not swing through a local distributor of Aston where the Carbon Black editions are in town, you will be filled a couple of DBS coupe with a special color Flick process and a black interior with carbon-Kevlar seats in black leather with silver v. suture with special wheels and badges.

Spoon Readying Performance Goodies for Honda CR-Z Coupe

One by one, Japanese tuners are approaching Honda's new CR-Z and applying their expertise to try to spiff up the firm's hybrid sports coupe. A little after Mugen's announcement on the launch of a new lineup of styling and performance accessories, Japan's Spoon revealed that it will soon release an array of goodies for the CR-Z.

The tuner said in its blog that it is currently working on a new sport suspension kit that will lower the coupe's ride height as well as on a high-performance brake system from Nisin and a new sport exhaust system.

It goes without saying that Spoon's offerings will include a series of aero parts, alloy wheels and interior accessories, while the tuner's site also makes word of a 'power unit' upgrade without giving out any specific details.