The Bugatti Mistral burst onto the scene earlier this year, making its big appearance at Pebble Beach. Deliveries won’t start until 2024, so the car is launching slowly. The limited-run hypercar recently made its Middle East debut ahead of an exclusive preview event to be held at its new Bugatti Riyadh showroom in the Saudi capital. However, Bugatti has already sold all of those it plans to build.
Bugatti took the Mistral on tour through Riyadh, bringing the sleek model to King Abdullah’s financial district. The automaker then took the Mistral to the Ritz Carlton Riyadh, with its final stop scheduled at the showroom, which Bugatti operates with Saudi partner SAMACO Automotive. The showroom is one of the brand’s newest in the world, it will open in 2021.
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“For many years, the people of the Kingdom have admired Bugatti’s unrivaled heritage, craftsmanship and performance, and we are honored to be able to bring our ultimate roadster to the Kingdom for a rare glimpse of this incomparable car,” said said Kostas Psarris, Regional Director Middle East and Asia at Bugatti.
The Mistral features the same 8.0-litre, four-turbocharged W16 engine that powers the Chiron Super Sport 300+. It also produces the same 1,577 horsepower (1,159 kilowatts), but the Mistral can’t reach the Super Sport’s extravagant 304.774 mph (490.484 km/h) top speed. Earlier in November, Bugatti revealed the roadster will have a top speed of at least 261 mph (420 km/h).
Due to customer demand, Bugatti decided to build the Mistral roadster – a roofless Chiron. According to Bugatti deputy design director Franks Heyl, collectors lobbied the automaker for a convertible. Bugatti did not envision the Chiron model spawning a roadster variant, but the company found a way to do so.
The Mistral with the W16 engine is a bit of a farewell letter to the brand’s emblematic engine. Bugatti and Rimac have now teamed up and are working collectively to chart a course for the two brands, which we should see begin to bear fruit in 2024, the same year Mistral and Bolide deliveries begin. It’ll be interesting to see what Bugatti’s future looks like in a rapidly electrifying world, but the Mistral motifs like the X-shaped taillights hint at what’s to come with the design.
