Bugatti sets new world record for open-top car

The Bugatti W16 Mistral has set a new top-speed world record for an open-top car, reaching a speed of 453.91 km/h at the ATP Automotive Testing track in Papenburg, Germany.

The landmark achievement follows several other world-record runs in the past 14 years. In June 2010, a Veyron 16.4 Super Sport reached a record of 431.07 km/h to set a closed-cockpit world record. Three years later, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse reached 408.84 km/h with the roof down.

Bugatti then broke its own closed-cockpit record in 2019 with the Chiron Super Sport 300+ achieving 490.48 km/h. 

Bugatti’s marketing team is nothing if not enthusiastic. of its latest achievement, it gushed breathlessly: “Building on the foundations of the incredible accomplishments already immortalised, the pursuit of another landmark moment in Bugatti’s rich history reached its crescendo in the wake of months of intricate preparation, and meticulously planned testing to explore the car’s immense capabilities.”

At Papenburg, on 09 November, Bugatti Pilote Officiel Andy Wallace – winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours – assumed the controls of the one-off “W16 Mistral World Record Car”. 

He warmed up the vehicle’s bespoke high-performance tires on a first anticipatory lap and pushed the car to a specified speed of 200 km/h into the banking of the track. He then opened up coming off the banking into the straight, taking the vehicle to its record speed. SGS-TÜV Saar officially confirmed the achievement of a new world top-speed record for an open-top at the end of the run: 453.91 km/h.

“Throughout the testing program leading up to this moment, it was incredible to feel how stable the car felt – I got the sense that it wanted to go faster,” says Wallace. “And when it came to the moment itself, the experience was overwhelmingly thrilling; feeling the elemental forces from the open-to at the end of the run: 453.91 km/h.

“Throughout the testing program leading up to this moment, it was incredible to feel how stable the car felt – I got the sense that it wanted to go faster,” says Wallace. “And when it came to the moment itself, the experience was overwhelmingly thrilling; feeling the elemental forces from the open-top cockpit, the sound of the immense W16 engine emanating from the air scoops next to my ear – it made
the achievement incredibly emotional.

“A record like this pushes the boundaries of automotive innovation, and requires immense focus, dedication, and teamwork to realise.”

The customer of the vehicle was in attendance to witness the record-breaking event, representing the Singh Collection – a private car collection from Punjab, India.

It owns each of the Bugatti World Record Cars; the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Edition, and Chiron Super Sport 300+.

Accessible only to the ultra-wealthy, the W16 Mistral World Record Car cost a cool €14-million – that’s almost R270-million in South African Rands. It features wheels in “Jet Orange”, a black carbon exterior and an interior with a plethora of orange-accented features. Bugatti describes this gaudiness as “the cabin immersing the driver in the aura of record-breaking triumph”.