- The 99th Bugatti Mistral concludes the W16 story that started with the Veyron in 2005.
- The Mistral is the world’s quickest open-top manufacturing automobile.
- Manufacturing of the brand new V16-powered Tourbillon hasn’t began but.
2026 will go down in historical past as one of the essential years for Bugatti. Not solely is it leaving the Volkswagen Group, nevertheless it’s additionally calling time on the long-running W16. The 99th and remaining Mistral marks the tip of the street for the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter engine, which made its manufacturing debut within the 2005 Veyron. The roadster is the final street automobile from Molsheim to characteristic the venerable engine, which additionally powered the Bolide, an excessive track-only machine restricted to 40 items, all of which had been constructed by November 2025.
The final Mistral is fittingly referred to as “The Final of Its Sort” and wears a two-tone Pearl and Sparkle paint end. Just like the 98 vehicles earlier than it, this roadster is actually a one-off, as Bugatti invitations rich prospects to personalize their vehicles right down to the smallest particulars. Whoever ordered the ultimate W16-powered mannequin selected Magnolia and Gray Carbon Matt accents for the inside, the place Ettore Bugatti’s signature seems on the headrests, aluminum door sills, and even the inside trim of the engine cowl.
As with each different Mistral, the ultimate instance underwent 248.5 miles (400 kilometers) of testing earlier than supply. Each roadster was pushed to 186 mph (300 km/h) at an airfield at Colmar Airport in northeastern France earlier than being handed over to its rightful proprietor. Bugatti fastidiously chosen three extremely certified check drivers to place the Mistral by its paces and guarantee every automobile met the model’s exacting requirements.
Photographs by: Bugatti
Bugatti as soon as stated it was finished chasing information, however in November 2024, the €5-million Mistral claimed the title of the world’s fastest open-top production car. With Andy Wallace behind the wheel, the one-off W16 Mistral World Document Automotive reached 282 mph (453.91 km/h) at ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg in Germany.
As for what lies forward, we already know a part of the reply. Earlier this month, Bugatti inaugurated La Manufacture, a brand new facility able to constructing as much as 200 vehicles per 12 months. It’s cheap to imagine fashions past the Tourbillon will finally be constructed there, contemplating the brand new V16-powered machine is proscribed to only 250 items. Manufacturing of the naturally aspirated, Cosworth-powered hybrid hypercar has but to start, as the corporate is at the moment tooling up the brand new facility.
Though Bugatti has stopped constructing new W16-powered manufacturing vehicles, the ultra-rich can nonetheless fee one by the Programme Solitaire. It’s a particular initiative for few-offs and even one-offs primarily based on present fashions, just like what Pagani has been doing for years with the Zonda. Solely two vehicles might be constructed yearly, and we’ve already seen a few Chiron-based tasks: Brouillard and the Veyron-inspired FKP Hommage.
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Supply: Bugatti
Motor1’s Take: It’s actually the tip of an period now that the W16 has formally been retired. Even so, the long run appears simply as thrilling, even when the Tourbillon stays reserved for the one percenters, very like the Chiron and Veyron earlier than it.
It nonetheless feels a bit unusual that Bugatti has parted methods with the Volkswagen Group after 28 years, however with an fanatic like Mate Rimac on the helm, the long run appears brilliant.
