That’s right – if you’re the type who’s particularly picky about your brand-new car having the lowest possible number on its odometer, you might want to step away from owning a Bugatti Mistral—that is, if you can afford its USD5 million (approx. RM21 million) sticker price.
This is because Bugatti has a rather unique approach to testing and validating each of its hand-crafted Mistrals. Every single car is subjected to an extensive 350 km test drive through the picturesque Alsatian French countryside, which the French carmaker calls the “perfect amphitheatre for evaluating the W16 Mistral’s capabilities.”
This is contrary to the common practice where new cars, even your run-of-the-mill Perodua Myvi, are delivered with only a little bit of mileage on the clock. Furthermore, it defies the unwritten rule in the hypercar world, where cars are often delivered with barely any mileage to preserve their future value.
Bugatti stated that the 350 km test route was selected because it reflects the real-world conditions a customer may encounter, featuring a mix of road surfaces, including cobblestones.
During the test, a driver will conduct a validation test on the Mistral’s mechanical systems. This includes driving the hypercar with and without its soft-top roof, analysing wind and road noise, checking chassis and tyre dynamics, and assessing the acoustic signature produced by the 1,578 hp 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine.
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Obviously, the transmission system is also subjected to this test regime, with every gear change analysed during acceleration and deceleration under varying loads to perfect the Mistral’s sound profile.
For tests conducted in a closed-circuit environment at the Colmar airfield, the Mistral’s braking systems are tested at speeds reaching up to 300 km/h. The removable roof mechanism also undergoes strict testing, with every aspect of its fit, removal process, and high-speed resistance being evaluated.
The latter is despite the Mistral can only achieve its top speed with its roof off—a fact demonstrated when it set a record-breaking 454 km/h, becoming the world’s fastest open-top production car.
As for the lucky test drivers, Bugatti has appointed only three experts who, the company states, “Possess the full qualification and dedication required to conduct W16 Mistral quality appraisal.” These test drives are accompanied by senior experts and autonomous assessments for a comprehensive analysis.
Despite the presence of automation, Bugatti states that 90% of the data is obtained personally by the test driver through sight, sound, and touch, which identifies every issue they’ve encountered, no matter how minor it is.
Following the identification and resolution of any issues, Bugatti will then conduct another secondary verification test of 50 km to really ensure that each of the 99 Mistral’s they produced is perfect when their lucky owners get the keys to them.
All said, while a Bugatti Mistral may reach its owner’s hands with 400 km on the clock, perhaps it’s better not to think of it as 400 km of mileage. Instead, it’s a hand-signed certificate of perfection from Molsheim, France, truly befitting its RM21 million price tag. Maybe Bugatti isn’t just selling exclusive hypercars. They’re selling perfection.
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