Stunning the crowds of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in California upon its debut. Stealing the show on its European debut at Chantilly Arts & Elegance. Now Bugatti’s ultimate roadster, the W16 Mistral, has made its first appearance in the Middle East.
Invited customers and media within the Arabian Peninsula have had the opportunity to witness the timeless elegance of W16 Mistral first-hand, including at a launch event hosted at Dubai’s Waldorf Astoria. As the last roadgoing appearance of the W16 engine that has come to define every Bugatti since the Veyron of 2005, it’s a significant part of the brand’s history. Also, on display within the Bugatti UAE showroom, operated by Al Habtoor Motors, W16 Mistral’s presence in Dubai underscores the importance of the region. Al Habtoor Motors has maintained and sold these cars on behalf of Bugatti since 2006, and was awarded Bugatti Service Partner of Excellence status in 2013.
Kostas Psarris, Regional Director, Middle East & Asia, Bugatti said: “The Arabian Peninsula is one of Bugatti’s key sales markets, accounting for around a quarter of all orders received for Chiron. The United Arab Emirates also has the largest fleet of Bugatti Veyron in the world, with over 50 vehicles in the country. The enthusiasm for the hyper sports cars of Molsheim in the Middle East, including for our ultimate roadster, W16 Mistral, is extraordinary.”
While in the UAE, W16 Mistral headed to the BEEAH Group headquarters, in Sharjah, an iconic building designed by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid to represent sand dunes. As one of the Middle East’s sustainability pioneers, BEEAH Group’s headquarters is a model for offices of the future, designed to be one of the smartest, most sustainable buildings in the world. The dune-shaped landmark shares a vision with the elegant and purposeful design of W16 Mistral.
In Bugatti’s fastest ever roadster, the aerodynamics and thermodynamics are carefully balanced to deliver a car that is capable of achieving incomparable speeds while still maintaining a beauty and timelessness of design. The headlights, for example, are intricately shaped, with a three-dimensional surface that functions as an aerodynamic aid to funnels air through the light and out through the wheel arch to improve aerodynamic drag. It is the product of a philosophy known within Bugatti as ‘form follows performance.’
Built around the definitive 1,600 PS incarnation of the W16 engine, the W16 Mistral offers performance unlike any open top car that has gone before. In its design and engineering it is completely bespoke; the existing monocoque is not simply cut off above the A-pillars to make way for the new open-top design but has been reengineered and reshaped to create a more rounded silhouette without compromising performance.
Only 99 examples of the W16 Mistral will be built, priced at 5 million euros net, with deliveries due to begin in 2024. The entire production run of W16 Mistral is already sold out.