Carmel, Calif. (CNN Business)Bugatti wants French automaker to become world's fastest convertible announced something. His 1,600-horsepower, $5 million W16 Mistral is essentially an open-top version of the Bugatti Chiron supercar, but with major design differences.
It was also Bugatti's last petrol-only car. Future models will be hybrids.
According to Bugatti, only 99 of his Mistrals were built, and all of them were already sold before the car opened to the public in Carmel, California on Friday.
"He has only one goal: to become the world's fastest roadster again," the company said in a statement.
Bugatti did not disclose the expected top speed of the Mistral. The last time Bugatti could claim to own the world's fastest convertible was in 2013 when the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Cabriolet drove German Volkswagen's test 254 mph on his course.
The current top speed record for a convertible is claimed by the Hennessy Venom F5 Roadster, manufactured by Hennessy Performance Engineering of Texas. That his $3 million 1,800 horsepower car reached a speed of 265.6 mph in 2016.
Convertibles typically have lower top speeds than hardtop cars due to poor aerodynamics.
The Mistral is also the last model to feature Bugatti's famous W16 16-cylinder engine. Mate Rimac, his CEO of Bugatti Rimac, which now owns the Bugatti brand, says future Bugatti models will be hybrids. It is unknown what kind of gas engine these future models will be powered by, but his W16 and is different.
Air for Mistral's big engine is drawn from air scoops behind each of his two seats in the car. The air scoop is made of carbon fiber and is designed to support the full weight of the car to protect the occupants in the event of a rollover. The air intake on the side of the car body is for the oil cooler. After passing through the oil cooler, the air exits through Mistral's X-shaped taillights.
The front of the Mistral has its own distinctive design with headlights each made up of his four light his bars. The central horseshoe grille is also deeper and wider than on the hardtop.