Bugatti has presented the last of the 99 produced W16 Mistral roadsters, and, of course, it is special, with a unique finish and its own name Blanc Éternel, which can be translated from French to English as "White Infinity."
Equipped with four turbochargers, the 8.0-liter gasoline W16 engine first appeared in 2005 on the Bugatti Veyron supercar, when it produced "only" 1,001 hp and was considered a triumph of engineering by the Volkswagen Group, which under the leadership of Ferdinand Piëch had turned into a true automotive empire. Today, this empire is cracking at the seams; the Bugatti brand no longer belongs to it and will come under the full control of Rimac by the end of this year.
This year, Bugatti will launch production of a completely new hybrid supercar, the Tourbillon, with a naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16 engine, and the era of the W16 engine has come to an end. From the Bugatti Veyron, the W16 engine was inherited by the Chiron model and all its derivatives, including the Mistral roadster, which debuted in 2022. The W16 engine was also installed in the track-focused Bugatti Bolide supercar with a completely unique body, virtually unrelated to the Chiron platform.
Production of the Bugatti Bolide ended last year, and now it is time to say goodbye to the Bugatti W16 Mistral. The final example, named Blanc Éternel, was built for a wealthy client from the Middle East. The design of the Bugatti W16 Mistral Blanc Éternel was created in collaboration with the German porcelain manufacturer Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin. The body features a two-tone paint scheme: the upper part is "pearl," and the lower part is "sparkling," reminiscent of the color of champagne. The interior is finished in "magnolia" and "matte gray carbon" colors.
The lower surface of the active rear wing bears the inscription "The last of its kind," and the same inscription is found inside the cabin on the sides of the central tunnel. The headrests of the seats are embroidered with the signature of Ettore Bugatti, which is also applied to the aluminum sill plates. At the client's request, a falcon sculpture has been integrated into the handle of the automatic transmission selector. Behind the selector is a crystal insert from Lalique with the inscription "Spirit of the Wind." The door panels feature sketches of three supercars with the W16 engine — the Veyron, Chiron, and Mistral.
The technical specifications of the final Bugatti W16 Mistral are standard: the engine produces 1,600 hp and 1,600 Nm of torque, the transmission is a 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual, the drive is all-wheel drive, acceleration to 100 km/h takes 2.4 seconds, and the top speed is 420 km/h.
The press service of the French brand did not disclose how much the Bugatti W16 Mistral Blanc Éternel cost the customer; the standard roadster at the time of its premiere started at 5 million euros.
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