Production of the Bugatti Chiron is currently underway, and still will be for many years to come as the brand recently confirmed that 300 out of the 500 models it intends to build have been sold. As a result, we can expect the Chiron to stick around for at least eight years, but that hasn't stopped talks about its inevitable successor in the future. Just recently, we learned from Bugatti's CEO Wolfgang Durheimer that development for the Chiron's replacement will start in 2019, and now more details have emerged from a new report by Automotive News.

The report suggests that the two-door Chiron could eventually be replaced by a luxurious four-door super sedan. "The four-door car is not dead," Durheimer told Automotive News at the Frankfurt Motor Show, confirming that Bugatti will make a final decision on what form its next car will take at the end of 2018 before engineering starts the following year. Since the Chiron will have an eight-year lifespan compared to its predecessor, the Veyron, which stayed in production for 12 years, we likely won't see another car from Bugatti until 2024 or 2025 as the automaker wants to remain a one-model brand. Bugatti still hasn't decided on a final powertrain for its next car, either.

It looked as if the automaker would go down a similar route as its competitors and utilize hybrid technology to extract more power, but the brand is still open to electrification or pure internal combustion. "It will again be decided on the performance criteria because this is the ultimate our customers expect from us," Durheimer said. "The ingredients are open." The Chiron came close to being electrified during development, but this was scrapped amid concerns over weight and packaging. Not that this harmed its performance – the Chiron can still produce 1,500-hp using only internal combustion.

Bugatti has explored the possibility of a luxury four-door fastback before with the Galibier concept which debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt show. It was originally supposed to go into production and launch in 2014 or 2015, but the project was scrapped in favor of the Chiron. Looks like Bugatti could end up resurrecting the project as a successor to the Chiron ten years later than planned. Better late than never.