Yahoo Autos Bugatti Mistral Sets Open-Roof Top Speed Record of 282 MPH
Bugatti's W-16 era is almost over, but the company still has a few feats left to accomplish before moving on to the V-16-hybrid Tourbillon. The latest feat on the list: another top speed run, this time set by the open-top Mistral clad in the brand's traditional record-setting livery of orange and black. That Mistral is now the fastest open-top car ever, setting the standard by hitting 282 miles per hour.
The run happened on November 9th at ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg, not the Volkswagen-owned Ehra-Lessein oval where Bugatti set its most famous speed records. Le Mans winner and recurring Bugatti record setter Andy Wallace again set the record, although this time Wallace had to carry more speed out of the track's banking in order to set a record on a shorter oval.
In a unique twist, the car's future owner was in attendance. The owner also rode along for a second run with Wallace after the record was set, reaching what Bugatti describes as "almost" the record speed — in what could be the fastest-ever run by any road car with a passenger in it. That owner, who commissioned both the one-off world record car and this run, will now put it into the Singh Collection with examples of the company's previous record-setting Veyron Super Sport, Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, and Chiron Super Sport 300+. All four are completed in variants of the same orange and black livery.
Bugatti says that the one-off — officially named the W16 Mistral World Record Car — cost a staggering $14.8 million. That's nearly three times the price of a standard Mistral, and closer to four times the price of what a Chiron Super Sport 300+ cost when those record cars were first made available to customers in 2019. But hey, there's only one world's fastest open-top car on Earth.
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