1931 - Bugatti Royale on 2040-cars

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1,600-hp Bugatti Mistral roadster marks the end of the line for the W16 engine

Bugatti's mighty W16 engine will retire in the coming years, but it's not sailing off into the sunset quietly. It will power one final street-legal car: a roadster named Mistral that stands proud as the first convertible of the Chiron era. Built due to customer demand, the Bugatti Mistral is a striking, limited-edition model that looks ready to add another speed record to the French firm's trophy case. I sat down with some of the people who created it, including Bugatti design director Achim Anscheidt and head of design Frank Heyl, to get the droptop's full story. "For the final road-going appearance of Bugatti’s legendary W16 engine, we knew we had to create a roadster. Well over 40% of all Bugatti vehicles ever created have been open-top in design," said Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac. Heyl added that customers "begged" Bugatti to create a Chiron-derived convertible, and that granting them this wish was a "bucket-list" item for the members of his team. Power for the Mistral comes from the same 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder engine that propelled the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to a record-breaking 304.773 mph in 2019. It's rated at 1,600 horsepower, and it spins the four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Bugatti estimates that the Mistral's top speed will check in at approximately 261 mph (420 kph). Will this number get verified? Hell, yes! "There can only be one goal in mind: to become the fastest roadster in the world once more," Bugatti pledged in a statement. While the Mistral is Chiron-based, Bugatti made several important structural changes to offset the inevitable loss of structural rigidity caused by chopping off the roof. Heyl explained that the monocoque's sills and transmission tunnel were reinforced and that the a- and b-pillar structures are new, though the front crash structure is the same. And, the two models intentionally share no exterior styling cues. "We had the pressure of creating something that is precious and valuable in a car collector's garage. It's not just a fashion statement: 'Oh, let's do a roadster!' Or, even worse, 'Let's take a Chiron and just cut it open,' which would have looked terrible. This burdens us with the responsibility that this is the last of its kind of that generation and how that's going to sit in those collections," Anscheidt told Autoblog.

Bugatti expands way downmarket with an electric scooter

Tales of an entry-level Bugatti have spewed out of the rumor mill for years, but none predicted that the vehicle would have two wheels. The company teamed with Bytech to release an electric scooter that makes the Bugatti name accessible to a much wider audience. Built around a magnesium-alloy frame, the 35-pound scooter is powered by a 700-watt motor that gives it a top speed of 18.5 mph. Clearly, this is not a Chiron, though it wasn't designed to be one. Note that the aforementioned velocity can only be reached when the rider selects a mode called Sport. Leave it in Economy mode and you'll max out at 9 mph; City unlocks 12.5 mph. Cruise control comes standard, and Bugatti notes its scooter is capable of riding up a 15-degree slope and carrying 242 pounds. The battery stores enough electricity for about 22 miles of range. It can be removed, and charging it takes four hours when using a household outlet. For context, one of the many unlikely entrants into the electric scooter arena is MV Agusta, an Italian company more commonly associated with high-performance, race-ready motorcycles. Its scooter (which is described as "the Italian stallion of the e-scooter world") weighs 44 pounds, has a 25-mph top speed, and can carry riders weighing up to 220 pounds. The 500-watt motor delivers 18 pound-feet of torque. Design-wise, it's a, well ... a scooter. You didn't think it would borrow styling cues from the Divo, did you? There's a Bugatti emblem on the front end, and the front turn signals are positioned on the outer parts of the handlebar for better visibility. LED strips illuminate the bottom part of the riding platform, while a rear-mounted light projects Bugatti's "EB" logo onto the ground. Just like in a Bugatti car, you'll be seen.  We don't know when the Bugatti scooter will go on sale or how much it will cost. However, buyers will have three colors to choose from: Agile Blue, silver, and black. It's not quite the baby Chiron we were expecting, but it's a good conversation starter: "I got here with my Bugatti."

Watch Chris Harris fall in love with a Bugatti EB110 SS

The poor Bugatti EB110 SS gets no love. Like the overachiever who's rapidly outshined by his younger brother, enthusiasts flock to the 1,000-horsepower Veyron, while the older Bug isn't viewed with quite the same reverence as its contemporaries, the Ferrari F40, McLaren F1, and Lamborghini Diablo. It's sort of like a deep cut versus a chart-topping hit, and that's just plain wrong. Fortunately, Chris Harris has a big appreciation for the Veyron's predecessor, and is all too happy to explain why, in his latest video. Here, the drift-happy Brit tests the most exotic version of the EB110, the ultra-high-performance SuperSport model. Like the Veyron that succeeded it, the EB110's engine was assisted by four turbochargers, although it was short four cylinders. In SS guise, the quad-turbocharged, mid-mounted, 3.5-liter V12 pumped out a now-modest 603 horsepower. But, and unlike the tank that is the Veyron, the older model is a bit of a featherweight, considering it was a comfortable, V12-powered, all-wheel-drive hypercar. That means it can hit 62 in 3.2 seconds and accelerate to 216 miles per hour with only half the output of the Veyron SS that everyone goes gaga over. Check out Harris as he samples a particularly yellow example of the EB110 SS, which will be crossing the block at RM Auctions' London event next month.