On November 9, the Bugatti Mistral officially claimed the title of fastest roofless car in the world after hitting a top speed of 282 mph (454 km/h) at ATP’s Automotive Testing facility in Papenburg, Germany. The feat, performed by Bugatti’s official test driver, Andy Wallace, is a testament to the engineering capabilities of Bugatti Mistral.
This Car closes off with all the same characteristics, like a quad-turbo, 8.0-liter W-16 engine that continues to whip up and bake up 1578 hp of output, along with railed roof aesthetics leading it into track-side activities of presumed excellence.
Andy Wallace drove the 2024 Bugatti Mistral around ATP’s 7.64-mile oval, taking it easy at first to 124 mph before opening it up on the straights. With the addition of his ride, it became yet another one for Bugatti as well as the ultimate Chiron Era send-off. Capping out the W-16 road car generation, with just 99 examples available to take home at $5 million a pop, this Mistral is destined to become a collector’s item for fans of the brand.
As an open-top Chiron, yes, but the Mistral has a more aggressive front-end design to match its visual and actual performance. Serious speed and handling are delivered to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. These redesigns and improvements exemplify Bugatti’s dedication to uphold peak performance levels and strive automotive design forward.
That tops the 254 mph of the 2013 Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and exceeds previous estimations for a top speed of the Mistral in the vicinity of 261 mph. For the maker that strives for the ultimate in everything, Bugatti sees a post-W-16 world as fertile ground for further conquests. Mistral’s 282 mph top speed makes it the king among open-top hypercars.
This particular record-breaking Mistral is dressed in a Jet Orange finish with matching accents, a nod to Bugatti’s lineage of record-breakers like the Veyron Super Sport. The owner of this Mistral also owns past record holders, indicating the personalization and exclusivity that come with Bugatti’s limited editions.
Other competitors, such as Hennessey and Koenigsegg, have both aimed to dethrone this record with their respective speedster roadsters, but for now Bugatti owns the top spot for open-top hypercars. The hypercar landscape is ever shifting, with the likes of the Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster and Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut now gunning for 300 mph. At least as things stand now, the Bugatti Mistral is completely unchallenged and a distilled version of this decades-gone-down-the-line DNA.