Having recently experienced the Veyron giving its all, the idea that the Mistral has 60 per cent more power is mind-bending, especially as the wipers are still working hard and the tyres are not getting any chance to build temperature. The centre console is a beautiful, satin carbonfibre sculpture, inset with a vertical line of four knurled aluminium dials whose normal functions are for the air-conditioning and heated seats, but a button press reveals their secondary functions. These are real-time g-force, max revs used, max speed and also the maximum power deployed. Of the 1600 PS available, I’ve so far used just 229, or a whole Kia EV6. Pathetic.
Still, there is some fun to be had with the throttle, eliciting different noises from the W16. Tread very lightly and the sound of the engine drawing breath is similar in character to the McLaren F1’s V12 digging deep from low revs – a heavy, staccato, very positive intake bark, though in the Mistral it’s more like a big old American V8. However, as soon as the revs start to climb, this beat is joined by – and then quickly consumed by – the extraordinary whoosh of the first pair of turbos spooling up and sucking hard. Short-shift up through the gears and the DSG does its thing, seamlessly upshifting and allowing the engine to maintain boost so that the whoosh of the turbos stays constant.
Spengler is as encouraging as someone who wants you to experience the Mistral but also wants to return to HQ with a £5m hypercar in one untarnished piece can be. He says that the sound switches up considerably when the second pair of turbos chime in. and later in the morning, on a long slip road down onto a bit of autoroute, I finally get to give the throttle a proper squeeze. When the revs hit about 4000rpm (I wasn’t looking) there’s what sounds like a terrifying lion’s roar, a quite extraordinary noise unlike that of any other engine I’ve ever come across. It isn’t a flat-out lunge but the readouts are healthier: max revs just shy of 5000rpm and max power at 863 PS (851bhp), a little over half of the available power…
After two decades, the Bugatti W16 era ends with a car that’s hugely more powerful and faster. The Mistral is more luxurious, more handsome and drives better than the Veyron too, with greater tactility and more refined dynamics. There’s also a whole heap more character from its engine, certainly with the roof on, but fundamentally it’s the same as the car that started it all.
The Tourbillon will be different, not least because it ushers in an all-new power unit with the same cylinder count and capacity as the W16 but with natural aspiration and a rare configuration. An 8-litre V16 reads like something you’d find in a pre-war car, but it revs to 9000rpm, makes 1000 PS (986bhp) and sounds incredible. The Tourbillon also has 789bhp of electric energy delivered by two e-motors, so it’s going to be like a Lamborghini Revuelto only 80 per cent more powerful. Here’s hoping it drives like one too.
Bugatti Mistral specs
EngineW16, 7993cc, quad-turboPower1578bhp @ 7050rpmTorque1180lb ft @ 2250-7000rpmWeight2040kgPower-to-weight786bhp/tonTyresMichelin Pilot Sport Cup 20-62mph 2.4secTop speed273mph (see text)Basic price£5,170,000
This story was first featured in evo issue 340.
