Bugatti broke the world speed record for the fastest convertible — again
The Mistral stole back the open-top crown.
Bugatti is wrapping up the chapter of the Chiron in anticipation of the inbound Tourbillon, but not before going out with a bang. It fired a final shot across the bow towards the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder with a high-speed flourish that set a new world record. With no roof to account for, the Bugatti Mistral set a new benchmark of 282 mph.
That’s higher than what the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder pulled off way back in 2016. when it hit 265.6 mph and took bragging rights away from the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, which itself made it to 254 mph in 2013. The latest speed run took place at the Automotive Testing facility located in Papenburg, Germany, with Bugatti’s test driver Andy Wallace at the wheel.
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There's a new convertible in town
“The (Mistral) was still climbing,” Wallace told TopGear magazine shortly after the deed took place. Despite having considerably less track to work with, he entered the straightaway at 124 mph from the banking. Ehra-Lessien would have given him more breathing room thanks to its five-mile-plus stretch of road, but as it turns out, 4 kilometers - or roughly 2.5 miles - was enough.
Why was this test not performed at Ehra-Lessien like the previous ones? Nowadays, Bugatti is affiliated with Rimac instead of Volkswagen, which happens to own that track.
As you might have noticed from the looks, the Mistral is largely a Chiron Super Sport 300+ underneath. That model was the Bugatti that became the first road-legal car to break the 300-mile-per-hour barrier in 2019, also with Wallace at the wheel.
“I don't think in this case or in the case of the Chiron Super Sport 300+, we were at v-max,” he said. “But we were pretty close.”
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The Mistral is the latest bespoke Bugatti
The Bugatti Mistral, named after a strong wind blowing in southern France, is powered by a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16. It produces 1,578 horsepower, a hundred more than the standard Chiron. The power is sent to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The styling is influenced by an array of other exclusive Bugatti models in addition to the aforementioned Chiron Super Sport 300+. The vertical headlamps are derived from the one-of-a-kind La Voiture Noir, while the rear lights are influenced by the track-only Bolide. Other modifications were also made to ensure the Mistral stayed glued to the road at speed.
Production of the bespoke Mistral was limited to just 99 units with a price tag of $5 million apiece. Bugatti
Final thoughts
The most recent Bugatti Tourbillion takes a wholly different approach to power compared to the Mistral. It still employs sixteen cylinders, but this time, they are in a V-formation rather than conjoined V8s. There are no turbochargers, and the boost comes instead from three electric motors for a total output of 1,800 horsepower. The claimed top speed figure is 277 mph, but who's to say Bugatti won't push it even higher? Only time will tell.
Your move, Hennessey.
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