Bugatti breaks another speed record, this time in a drop-top

Bugatti breaks another speed record, this time in a drop-top

The automotive industry thrives on records; in fact, I would argue that without records, we wouldn't have the insanely quick hypercars we see today. For almost two decades now, Bugatti has been the pioneers of speed. Starting with the Veyron in 2005, the brand surpassed the Dauer 962 Le Mans's previous top-speed record by 4km/h, achieving a staggering 408.47km/h and has continued to push the envelope since. This time around they have set the fastest speed for a topless car, and the results are hair-raising, quite literally.

The tool for the job is the W16 Mistral, and it already sounds menacing. It makes use of the same brutal 8.0-litre W16 engine found in the Chiron Super Sport, meaning it pumps out a whopping 1,161kW. Its roadster body takes design notes from the La Voiture Noire with elements such as its vertical headlights, while the rear was inspired by the X-bar light on the Bolide, and it's all wrapped up in a Chiron-like body. Only 99 Mistrals will be produced, and this record likely inspired its creation.

Now the previous record holder was the Hennesy Venom GT Spyder at 427.4km/h which was achieved all the way back in 2016. So the task of achieving speeds greater than this was given to a man who is no stranger to driving Bugatti’s quickly. His name is Andy Wallace, and his CV is rather impressive. First and foremost, he has won the Le Mans race, an impressive feat in and of itself, but he also holds the record for the fastest close-top speed in a production car. Achieving 490.3km/h in the Chiron Super Sport 300+ back in 2019.

So to no surprise, the Mistral used for the run is a special one-off ‘World Record Edition’ and likely squeezes even more power out of its already crazy W16. Nevertheless, the scene for the event was the Papenburg test facility in Germany, and there was only one thing to do, and that was to drive fast, really fast. The Mistral was clocked in at a top speed of 453.9km/h and yes, that's with the roof off.

This does seem substantially less impressive than the Chiron's 490km/h record. But considering that the Chiron is about as close to aerodynamic perfection as you can get, the Mistral now has a gaping hole in the roof, which creates all sorts of turbulent air and drag. With this considered, it's one impressive achievement. I can only imagine how painful that speed must be inside the cabin if you were to forget your helmet at home. But it's one record that will likely remain unbroken for some years to come.

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