First Bugatti Mistral Deliveries Mark The Beginning Of The End For The W16 Engine

Before Bugatti starts production of the totally new V16-powered Tourbillon hypercar, it has to finish out production of its models powered by the brand's iconic quad-turbo W16, without a doubt the greatest engine that has ever existed. The final Chiron was shown last year and deliveries of the track-only Bolide are well underway, and now Bugatti is finally commencing deliveries of the roofless W16 Mistral, the last road-going model to use that incredible engine.

The W16 Mistral was first unveiled at Monterey Car Week in 2022, and the design has gone essentially unchanged since then as the car went through its extensive testing regimen. When it was still under Volkswagen ownership Bugatti said it was done chasing speed records after building the first road car to hit 300 mph, but now that Mate Rimac is at the helm that's changed — back in November a Mistral hit 282 mph, making it the fastest droptop car ever made.

Only 99 units of the Mistral will be made at a starting price of around $5 million each, and these first two Mistrals are both headed to customers in the United States. They're almost polar opposites in terms of spec (maybe Bugatti did that on purpose) and both have some very cool touches, so let's dive in.

While certainly striking, the first of the two Mistrals is definitely the tamer one. Its body is finished in exposed Black Carbon with a Bugatti Light Blue Sport stripe that starts just behind the cabin, covering the rear deck and roll bar. That bright blue is also found on the hood vent trim, brake calipers, side mirrors, engine covers and other accents. Bugatti's signature center spine nicely bisects that deck stripe. Bugatti says that many "discerning" owners go for dual-color schemes, but this one's black finish "exudes immense power and captivating refinement."

The interior is a lot more exciting, as nearly every single surface is finished in Bugatti Light Blue Sport leather, paired with Beluga Black stitching and black carbon-fiber accents. Bugatti developed a new woven leather technique for the Mistral that's found on the seats and door panels, which looks utterly spectacular especially on the curved door cards. Milled from a single block of aluminum and placed into a glass enclosure in every Mistral's shifter is the Dancing Elephant sculpture that Rembrandt Bugatti was so well known for, having been used as the hood ornament on the Royale. In this black Mistral the glass is transparent and the shifter is finished in Bugatti Light Blue leather, and the elephant is also stitched into the headrests.

This second Mistral is much more up my alley. Its matte White Glacier paint is offset by Blue Carbon for all the lower exterior bits, like the splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser. The wheels are painted blue to match the carbon, which is a nice touch. There are a number of Italian Red accents in places like the center spine and the script under the active wing, which along with some Atlantic Blue bits celebrated "the Star-Spangled Banner and the French brand's roots," according to Bugatti — it even has a red-white-and-blue flag just aft of each front wheel.

On the inside, the white car has tons of white leather with Lake Blue stitching and blue carbon throughout, plus red accents for the seatbelts, center dashboard spine and Dancing Elephant headrests. Its shifter is also even cooler than the black car's: the shifter itself is made of hand-crafted wood, and the elephant is encased in Italian Red glass.

The Mistral was named after one of the eight principal winds of the Mediterranean, specifically the one that blows from souther France out to the Côte d'Azur along the coast. Bugatti certainly chose the name wisely, as it ties nicely into the brand's flowery language about the W16 era coming to a close:

It invokes an irresistible sense of wistfulness – both for what has passed, and what is to come. With the winds of change blowing into a new chapter for Bugatti, the swansong of the legendary W16 era, the W16 Mistral¹, has been delivered to its first customers – a special moment marking the beginning of a new milestone for the brand, and a new journey of discovery for the owners. The W16 Mistral embarks on its journey as the final encore for the incredible W16 engine, marking the end of a remarkable chapter for Bugatti. The ultimate roadster – entirely unparalleled in its capabilities, its character, and its rich heritage; qualities that its first esteemed owners can continue to experience for themselves in their rawest, most thrilling form.

I can't wait to see how the other 97 Mistrals look. I mean, if you're spending millions of dollars on a limited-run hypercar, you're gonna want to do a spec that no one else will have, right?