Bugatti has claimed another world record, setting the highest top speed for an open-top car.
During an organised record attempt at the Papenburg test track in Germany, the Bugatti W16 Mistral reached a maximum speed of 453.91kph.
That translates into an astonishing 282mph, making the W16 Mistral one of the fastest road-legal cars ever created.
For comparison, the closed-roof Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ achieved a top speed of 304.77mph in 2019.
A one-off record roadster
The record-breaking success of the W16 Mistral means Bugatti reclaims the accolade of the fastest open-top car, some eight years after it was snatched away by Hennessey.
In 2016, the Texas-based outfit reached 265.6mph with its Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, which edged ahead of the 254mph Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.
Bugatti was commissioned by the owner of this W16 Mistral to create a one-off special, capable of chasing maximum speeds.
The Mistral World Record Edition is valued at €14 million (£11.7 million). The unique car’s (possibly slightly nervous) owner was on-hand to watch the top-speed run unfold.
The safest pair of hands
The W16 Mistral was driven by Andy Wallace, the ‘Bugatti Pilote Officiel’. The Oxford-born driver has set previous speed records for Bugatti, along with winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so was a particularly safe pair of hands for the top-speed attempt.
Announced in 2022, the Mistral uses the same quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 as other models in modern Bugatti history. Here, it produces a colossal 1,600hp.
Wallace had to tackle the Papenburg test track’s banked curves at more than 120mph, before unleashing the Mistral’s full power on the straight to hit a record-breaking top speed.
“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,” commented Wallace.
A record-breaking collection
Following the official record-setting speed run, verified by SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH, Wallace took the owner of the unique W16 Mistral for a passenger ride that almost reached the same 282mph maximum.
The Mistral World Record Edition will now become part of an incredible private Bugatti collection, joining a Veyron Super Sport, Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and Chiron Super Sport 300+.
Poignantly, the Mistral World Record Edition also marks the end of the road for the phenomenal W16 engine. Bugatti’s all-new hypercar, the Tourbillon, will feature a 8.3-litre naturally aspirated V16, supplemented by hybrid hardware.
Can we expect to see a record-breaking version of the Tourbillon in due course? Don’t bet against it.
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