Photo: Bugatti / edited by autoevolution
Revealed with much pomp and circumstance last year at the Monterey Car Week, the W16 Mistral was promptly flown over to France in September 2022. After wowing the crowd at Chantilly Arts & Elegance, the quad-turbo’d hypercar then made a stop at Dubai’s Waldorf Astoria.
Following its Middle Eastern debut, the open-top land missile continued its world tour with displays in Saudi Arabia and Japan. The W16 Mistral’s journey continued with a photo shoot in the foothills of the French Riviera.
Why there and not Molsheim where Bugatti is headquartered? The reason is the wind after which the Mistral is named. Especially strong between winter and spring, the mistral is more than simply a wind. It plays a vital role in creating Provence’s mix of micro-climates.
Cote d’Azur is arguably the best place for a photoshoot of this fantastic automobile. Mistral further matches the W16-engined hypercar’s character because it was shaped by the wind and because it harnesses immense power.
The beating heart of this four-wheeled artwork is an 8.0-liter colossus of a powerplant. Essentially two V8s that came together to create a W16, the quad-turbo lump is connected to a dual-clutch gearbox. The longitudinally-mounted tranny can trace its roots back to the Veyron.
Back then, it was the world’s first application of a twin-clutch transmission with seven forward ratios. Although DCTs are often regarded as delicate transmissions, especially in comparison to torque-converter automatics, the seven-speed transmission in the W16 Mistral is appropriately beefy due to the ridiculous torque that W16 makes.
On full song, the 8.0-liter monster cranks out a simply outstanding 1,600 metric horsepower and 1,600 Nm, figures that convert to 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet. Despite being a roadster, the French hypercar can hit 420 kilometers per hour (261 miles per hour).
An intricate combination of artistic vision and aerodynamically conscious design, the W16 Mistral wouldn’t be a Bugatti without the iconic horseshoe grille up front. Said grille channels incoming air to the radiator, whereas the side intakes cool down the intercoolers.
Even the headlights are intricately shaped with a purpose, that purpose being to funnel air out through the wheel arches, thus improving aerodynamic drag. The X-motif taillights aren’t there only for show either. According to Bugatti, they channel air to the side oil coolers through ducts that connect the X beams to the side radiators.
The W16 Mistral, obviously enough, isn’t for mere mortals like you and me. A grand total of 99 examples will be produced, with every single one of them spoken for prior to the Mistral’s world debut in August 2022.
The starting price is 5 million euros net, which means a little over 5.3 million dollars at current exchange rates. Deliveries are due to kick off in 2024, and the series-production specification will be minutely different from the Mistral before your eyes. Pressing the driver-side B of this prototype opens the driver’s door, but the production version will sport door handles.
Why there and not Molsheim where Bugatti is headquartered? The reason is the wind after which the Mistral is named. Especially strong between winter and spring, the mistral is more than simply a wind. It plays a vital role in creating Provence’s mix of micro-climates.
Cote d’Azur is arguably the best place for a photoshoot of this fantastic automobile. Mistral further matches the W16-engined hypercar’s character because it was shaped by the wind and because it harnesses immense power.
The beating heart of this four-wheeled artwork is an 8.0-liter colossus of a powerplant. Essentially two V8s that came together to create a W16, the quad-turbo lump is connected to a dual-clutch gearbox. The longitudinally-mounted tranny can trace its roots back to the Veyron.
Back then, it was the world’s first application of a twin-clutch transmission with seven forward ratios. Although DCTs are often regarded as delicate transmissions, especially in comparison to torque-converter automatics, the seven-speed transmission in the W16 Mistral is appropriately beefy due to the ridiculous torque that W16 makes.
On full song, the 8.0-liter monster cranks out a simply outstanding 1,600 metric horsepower and 1,600 Nm, figures that convert to 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet. Despite being a roadster, the French hypercar can hit 420 kilometers per hour (261 miles per hour).
An intricate combination of artistic vision and aerodynamically conscious design, the W16 Mistral wouldn’t be a Bugatti without the iconic horseshoe grille up front. Said grille channels incoming air to the radiator, whereas the side intakes cool down the intercoolers.
Even the headlights are intricately shaped with a purpose, that purpose being to funnel air out through the wheel arches, thus improving aerodynamic drag. The X-motif taillights aren’t there only for show either. According to Bugatti, they channel air to the side oil coolers through ducts that connect the X beams to the side radiators.
The W16 Mistral, obviously enough, isn’t for mere mortals like you and me. A grand total of 99 examples will be produced, with every single one of them spoken for prior to the Mistral’s world debut in August 2022.
The starting price is 5 million euros net, which means a little over 5.3 million dollars at current exchange rates. Deliveries are due to kick off in 2024, and the series-production specification will be minutely different from the Mistral before your eyes. Pressing the driver-side B of this prototype opens the driver’s door, but the production version will sport door handles.
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