Bugatti W16 Mistral breaks speed record for open-top car

This Bugatti W16 Mistral broke a world record for top speed of an open-top car.

When it comes to smashing world records, Bugatti has form.

The brand has already been linked to stellar performances from three of its iconic cars.

Now, a fourth car has joined the ranks of the record breakers.

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How the Bugatti W16 Mistral broke a world record

The W16 Mistral was the fourth Bugatti car to cement its place in history.

It smashed out a speed of 282mph (453.91km/h) at the track facilities of ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg GmbH in Germany.

The story of this amazing achievement back way back in June 2010, when a Veyron 16.4 Super Sport whizzed through a record of 431.07km/h.

Nine years later, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ broke the closed cockpit record once again with 490.48km/h.

The bar just kept getting higher and higher.

Three years later, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse attempted to set the record with the roof down and amassed 408.84km/h.

Aspiring to best themselves again, Bugatti set about topping that effort a few years down the line.

That brings us to Papenburg in Germany.

Who was at the track when the record was smashed?

Andy Wallace was the man who was behind the wheel of the Mistral on November 9th when history was made.

The racing driver started off with a warm-up lap, he soon accelerated to 200km/h and unleashed the car’s full power.

At the end of the run, the speed was confirmed to be a breath-taking 453.91km/h.

Speaking of his experience making history, Wallace said: “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.

“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 realize.”

There was another Bugatti first that day – the car’s customer was present to see the record being made.

He was given an incredible opportunity to ride with Wallace on a second high-speed run.

It reached a near speed and likely set a non-official record for the fastest-ever passenger ride.

Speed records are constantly being set in the world of cars – earlier this year, the Toyota Land Cruiser hit 370km/h, putting it well ahead of many supercars around the world.

On the other end of the scale, some cars are recognized for how slow they go, such as these police cars on a Greek island.