Bugatti unveiled its latest hypercar on Friday, the Mistral roadster, which is based on the Chiron and will be the brand’s last road-going model to feature the brawny mill that’s been a hallmark of its lineup since the Veyron’s introduction in 2005.
The W16 has been the sole engine powering Bugattis since 2005, but with hybrids and EVs slowly taking over, it’s the end of the road for 16 cylinders, positioned in the shape of a “W.” Bugatti wants it to sign off memorably, so they’ve plonked it into their latest, the most exclusive, and most powerful car so far: the Mistral roadster. And this is no roadster that can be had for cheap thrills.
t’s exotic and exorbitantly priced at $5 million, which comes as no surprise since it’s a Bugatti. This is the ultimate, but not the end, for the French hypercar maker’s future.
Surprisingly, the Chiron has never been sold as a roadster, so with the Mistral, you get to hear the whoosh, pop, and bang of an open-top. It’s also a nod to Bugattis, which are long gone but never forgotten. After having taken note of the demand for such a car from their clients, they simply had to find a way of delivering mighty performance in a new body.
Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac said in a statement: “For the final road-going appearance of Bugatti’s legendary W-16 engine, we knew we had to create a roadster.” “Well over 40% of all Bugatti vehicles ever created have been open-top in design, establishing a long lineage of performance icons that—to this day—are revered the world over.”
Under the hood of the Mistral, roadster resides their menacing 8.0-liter quad-turbo 16-cylinder monster, which will soon be a thing of the past. It’s been tuned to 1,600 horsepower to match the Chiron Super Sport 300+. This powers all four wheels via a dual-clutch transmission. It’s also said to become the world’s fastest roadster, shattering the record of 427 km/h held by the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.