Back in 2019 after absolutely destroying the production car top speed world record with the Chiron Super Sport, the first car to hit the 300-mph mark, then-president of the brand Stephan Winkelmann said the French marque was done chasing top speed records. Recently appointed CEO Mate Rimac has said “screw that” in a big way, as the W16 Mistral just demolished the top speed record for open-top cars, going 21 mph faster than Bugatti initially estimated it would.
As a refresher, the Mistral is the final Bugatti road car to use the incredible quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine, alongside the track-only Bolide, and it’s essentially a roofless Chiron with unique exterior styling. It makes 1,578 horsepower, the same as the Chiron Super Sport, and when it was unveiled in 2022 Bugatti initially estimated the Mistral would have a top speed of 261 mph, eclipsing the 254-mph top speed record set by the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse convertible in 2013. It turns out, Bugatti’s estimates were way too conservative.
The Mistral’s new record was set by Le Mans winner Andy Wallace, who has done all of Bugatti’s other records, at the Papenburg test facility in Germany. (Bugatti is no longer able to use Ehra-Lessien now that it’s been separated from Volkswagen control.) According to Top Gear, which was present for the run, the track’s 2.5-mile-long straights are half the length of the ones at Ehra-Lessien, so the Mistral had to carry a lot more speed out of the banked corners — 124 mph to be exact. At the end of the run, SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH verified Wallace hit a top speed of 453.91 kph, or 282 mph. That is absolutely wild. Here’s what Wallace had to say about it:
Throughout the testing program leading up to this moment, it was incredible to feel how stable the car felt — I got the sense that it wanted to go faster. And when it came to the moment itself, the experience was overwhelmingly thrilling; feeling the elemental forces from the open-top cockpit, the sound of the immense W16 engine emanating from the air scoops next to my ear — it made the achievement incredibly emotional. A record like this pushes the boundaries of automotive innovation, and requires immense focus, dedication, and teamwork to realize. It’s a true testament to the passion that everyone at Bugatti has for making history.
Making this record even more exciting is the fact that the owner of this specific Mistral was in attendance, and even got to ride along with Wallace for another high-speed run after the top speed was set. Bugatti says the Mistral almost reached the same speed with the passenger aboard, “likely setting an unofficial record for the fastest-ever passenger ride” in the process.
This Mistral will be going to the Singh Collection in Punjab, India, where it will join World Record Edition examples of the Veyron Super Sport, Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and Chiron Super Sport, all of which had black and orange liveries. To match those special models, this Mistral has its own color scheme of black carbon fiber and Jet Orange lower sections, with orange interior accents and special wheels.
Bugatti is only making 99 units of the W16 Mistral, and while the “normal” ones were said to start at around €5 million each, Bugatti says this one-off Mistral World Record Car set its owner back €14 million. (I’m assuming a lot of that cost went toward making the record attempt happen.) Bugatti says the customer “was offered the opportunity to immerse themselves in an exclusive, exquisite experience throughout the weekend in honor of the momentous day.”
So, what next for Bugatti? Will it go after any other records? I would guess the answer is yes. The Chiron’s successor, the V16-powered Tourbillon, will enter production in 2026 once the Bolide and Mistral are all built. Bugatti says its top speed is a meager 276 mph, but that would surely be a top speed record for an electrified car. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bolide start to go after track records, either — Bugatti previously said its simulations put the Bolide faster than the Le Mans record, and just a few seconds shy of the all-time Nürburgring record.
Mate Rimac sure talks like he wants to keep pushing the boundaries of performance when it comes to Bugatti. As he said in the press release:
Since the inception of Bugatti in 1909, the marque has sought to supersede the perceived realms of possibility in luxury, elegance, and performance. The Bugatti World Record Cars throughout the marque’s history have represented the epitome of speed and power, setting new boundaries and redefining again and again what Bugatti vehicles are capable of. And now, with the unparalleled achievement of the W16 Mistral World Record Car etched into the history books, we see history not just repeating itself, but new history made. We are immensely proud of the whole team that made this incredible achievement possible — an achievement defined by passion and the pursuit of perfection. That is what defines Bugatti — and what makes its achievements truly incomparable.
