The French legend has added another record to its list of achievements to date. The Bugatti W16 Mistral, with a speed of 453.91 km/h, has become the “World’s Fastest Open-Top Car.”
Bugatti never tires of breaking records! The brand, which produced the most powerful, expensive, and fastest cars of the previous century, continues its streak of records that started with the Veyron and carried on with the Chiron, now adding a new category with the W16 Mistral. Bugatti, which still holds the record for the fastest production car in the world with the 490.48 km/h achieved by the Chiron Super Sport 300+, has now become the new record holder in the “Roofless” production cars category.
ANDY WALLACE WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL AGAIN
The driver with the most speed records for production cars, Andy Wallace, was once again behind the wheel for the W16 Mistral’s record attempt. Wallace previously achieved a speed of 386.4 km/h with the McLaren F1, a record that remained unbroken for 11 years. The 490.48 km/h speed he reached in 2019 with the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ still officially sets the upper limit among road-legal cars. The record-breaking driver took the wheel this time to refresh a different category.
WALLACE: “IT COULD HAVE GONE FASTER”
Bugatti’s official test driver, Andy Wallace, expressed his admiration for the stability of the Bugatti W16 Mistral at extremely high speeds, saying: “During our tests, we felt confident we could easily reach these speeds. In fact, the car could have gone even faster. It’s hard to describe the feeling of driving with an open cockpit, with the sound coming from the air intakes right behind me. We are thrilled to have made history and demonstrated how far the limits of the automotive industry can be pushed with such a record.”
W16 MISTRAL’S OWNER ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE RECORD ATTEMPT
For the first time, a vehicle owner was part of Bugatti’s record attempt. Reuben Singh, founder of The Singh Collection, who also owns icons like the record-holding Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, and Chiron Super Sport 300+, allowed his W16 Mistral to be used for the new record attempt.
After the record was confirmed, Reuben Singh, sitting in the passenger seat of his W16 Mistral alongside Andy Wallace, became – unofficially – the fastest passenger in an open-top car!
PRICE: €14 MILLION
Like its previous record-breaking Bugattis, the W16 Mistral comes in black and “Jet Orange” colors and has a price tag of €14 million. The orange color used on the lower parts of the exposed carbon-fiber bodywork is also present in interior details. Additionally, the inscription “Mistral-World Record Car” is engraved under the rear spoiler specifically for this car.
RECORD BROKEN AT PAPENBURG
Bugatti’s previous record attempts were conducted at Volkswagen Group’s Ehra-Lessien track. This time, the high-speed test track in Papenburg, Germany, was chosen. The W16 Mistral, verified by SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH, managed to exceed its simulation speed by 33 km/h.
Bugatti and Rimac CEO Mate Rimac hinted at their next goal of pushing the 500 km/h barrier. Mate Rimac, who is in discussions with Michelin for tires suitable for these speeds, believes even higher speeds can be achieved at Papenburg. This means we might see these figures reached with the Chiron Super Sport or the new Bugatti series Tourbillon in the near future!
Legendary Names of Wheeler Dealers: Mike Brewer – Marc “Elvis” Priestley
