Bugatti has finished building the W16 Mistral, bringing production of its famous quad-turbo 8.0-litre W16 engine to an end. The company confirmed that the final roadster has left the company’s Atelier in Molsheim, ending a story that began with the Veyron in 2005 and continued through the Chiron.
Only 99 examples of the W16 Mistral were built, and Bugatti says each one was personalised for its owner. The final car is finished in a two-tone Pearl and Sparkle paint scheme, with a Magnolia and Grey Carbon Matt interior created through the brand’s Sur Mesure programme.
This last example also carries several farewell details that make its place in Bugatti history clear. Ettore Bugatti’s signature appears on the headrests, aluminium door sills and inner trim of the engine cover, while a dedication plate marks it as “The Last of Its Kind”.
Before delivery, every Mistral went through at least 400km of testing on roads around Alsace. Each car also completed high-speed checks at Colmar airfield in France, where it was driven at speeds of up to 300km/h to test its braking, stability and safety systems.
The Mistral also gave the W16 one final record before production ended. In November 2024, Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace reached 453.91km/h in the one-off W16 Mistral World Record Car, making it the world’s fastest open-top production car.
Bugatti’s next chapter will be built around the Tourbillon, a hybrid hypercar powered by a naturally aspirated V16 and three electric motors. Production has not started yet, but the company has already opened La Manufacture, a new facility in Molsheim created for the Tourbillon era.
Replacing the W16 with a V16 means Bugatti is not exactly becoming sensible. Nevertheless, the retirement of the W16 marks the end of one of the most recognisable engines in modern performance car history.