- Bugatti Mistral claims land speed record for a production open-top car
- Record car is a one-off example costing $14.7 million
- Mistral production capped at 99 units
Bugatti’s Mistral roadster has been taken to a top speed of 282 mph, and in the process has claimed the world land speed record for a production open-top car.
The run took place on Nov. 9 at the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg site in Germany, with Bugatti chief test driver Andy Wallace behind the wheel.
Bugatti Mistral World Record Car hits 282 mph – Nov. 2024
The new speed smashes the previous record of 265.6 mph, set by Hennessey’s Venom GT Spyder in 2016. Bugatti’s Chiron Super Sport 300+ is still the fastest production car, having hit 304 mph in 2019.
Wallace drove a one-off example of the Mistral known as the Mistral World Record Car to the record speed. According to Bugatti, the car’s owner was present to witness the run.
Bugatti Mistral World Record Car hits 282 mph – Nov. 2024
The car cost its owner 14 million euros (approximately $14.7 million), instead of the 5 million euros ($5.3 million) that the regular Mistral costs, and it features the signature bare carbon and orange livery that Bugatti reserves for special World Record Edition cars, named because they all established new land speed records in their day.
Previous examples include the Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition, Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Edition, and Chiron Super Sport 300+, and an example of each is also owned by the owner of the Mistral World Record Car, Bugatti said.
Bugatti Mistral World Record Car hits 282 mph – Nov. 2024
Bugatti presented the Mistral for the first time during 2022 Monterey Car Week as a celebration of the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engine that first debuted in the Veyron two decades ago. Bugatti’s next hypercar, the Tourbillon, features a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a newly developed 8.3-liter V-16 engine as its internal-combustion component.
The engine in the Mistral is rated at 1,578 hp, and Bugatti has never revealed any additional performance metrics other than the car having a top speed higher than the governed 261 mph of the Chiron, whose platform the Mistral shares.
Bugatti Mistral wind tunnel testing
Bugatti never intended to launch an open-top car on the Chiron’s platform, making the development of the Mistral more difficult than most convertibles. In addition to modifying the Chiron’s carbon-fiber tub to deliver enough rigidity without the roof, engineers also had to work on the aerodynamics to ensure stability at record-breaking speeds.
Bugatti has confirmed it will only build 99 Mistrals, and all build slots have already been claimed.
