Bugatti ends W16 engine production as last Mistral leaves the factory
Bugatti has confirmed the end of its twenty-year production run of the quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine, with the final W16 Mistral rolling out of the Molsheim Atelier. While series production is over, the company's Programme Solitaire still allows ultra-wealthy clients to commission bespoke one-off cars built around the retired engine.
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Bugatti’s final catalog W16 has left the Molsheim line for good.
The last Mistral swaps its dancing elephant for a falcon head.
While series production of the W16 ends, it lives on in one-offs.
Bugatti has confirmed that the twenty-year run of its quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine is over, with the last W16 Mistral rolling out of the Molsheim Atelier. The Chiron-based roadster may have reached the end of its road, but we all know there’s a loophole for anyone still hungry for a car built around the retired sixteen.
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Last year, Bugatti set up Programme Solitaire, which lets its wealthiest clients commission one-off and few-off builds on existing platforms and powerplants, the W16 among them. Two of those commissions have already surfaced, the bespoke Brouillard and the Veyron FKP Hommage, each drawing on Molsheim’s remaining stock of W16 engines and Chiron monocoques.
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As a homologated catalog model, though, the Mistral marks the real close of the platform, and that distinction matters to collectors who want the final chapter rather than a bespoke afterword.
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The W16 Mistral broke cover in August 2022 with production capped at 99 units. This last hypercar wears a two-tone livery blending Pearl and Sparkle shades, and its open two-seat cabin is trimmed in Magnolia and Grey Carbon Matt leather. A handful of one-of-a-kind touches came courtesy of the Bugatti Sur Mesure personalization program, the same shop responsible for the wilder commissions that defined the model’s run.
In place of the traditional Rembrandt-designed dancing elephant, a bespoke aluminum falcon head perches atop the gear selector, a nod to the owner’s Middle Eastern heritage. The same falcon reappears as a hand-embroidered sketch stretched in Anthracite across the door panels, while the armrest plate holds a frozen crystal glass sculpture made with French glassmaker Lalique.
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Another cool detail is Ettore Bugatti’s signature on the engine cover, also present on the headrest stitching and the machined aluminum door sills. Finally, a special plate displaying the car’s silhouette and the words “The last of its kind” is nested the cockpit.
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This final example joins a fiercely exclusive line of personalized Sur Mesure builds that have come out of Molsheim across the Mistral’s production run. Among the most notable are the Caroline commissioned by a father for his daughter , the dragonfly-themed Fly Bug, the porcelain-inspired Blanc Éterne and plenty of others.
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Another standout is the one-off World Record Car that hit a top speed of 453.91 km/h (282 mph) at Papenburg with racing driver Andy Wallace behind the wheel. This one found its way into a private collection alongside other World Record Bugattis and is believed to be the priciest Mistral ever at €14 million ($16 million), set against the roadster’s €5 million ($5.7 million) starting price.
Under the skin, the ultimate evolution of Bugatti’s famous 8.0-liter W16 produces 1,578 hp (1,177 kW / 1,600 PS) and 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft) of torque, matching the track-only Bolide .
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The end of Mistral production lands at a symbolic moment for Bugatti, coming just days after the brand opened its factory expansion, dubbed ‘La Manufacture.’ That building becomes the new home for production of the Tourbillon and future Bugatti hypercars.
Photos Bugatti
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