Bugatti Drives Your Hypercar to 186 MPH Before Delivery
Each
Mistral
undergoes rigorous testing for at least 248.5 miles (400 kilometers) to ensure everything is up to spec. If any issues are discovered, the car returns to the shop to sort out 'any irregularities, regardless of how minor.' It then heads back on the road for an additional 31 miles (50 kilometers), or more if needed. But that's not the most interesting part.
Photo by: Bugatti
Even before the owner sets foot inside the hypercar,
Bugatti
pushes the Mistral to 186 mph (300 km/h). It's part of a testing procedure to verify the ESP and ABS systems during emergency braking. As you can imagine, this isn't done on public roads. The company utilizes a section of an airfield at Colmar Airport in northeastern France.
But the Mistral is capable of much more at full tilt. Last year, it reached
282 mph (453.9 km/h)
at the Papenburg test track in Germany, making it the world's fastest open-top car. That's actually faster than Bugatti initially claimed, as the Chiron roadster was said to top out at 261 mph (420 km/h). Its predecessor, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, could 'only' hit 254 mph (408.8 km/h). Fun fact: the Mistral's top speed is only achievable with the roof removed.
Bugatti's test drive involves far more than going fast and slamming on the brakes. From the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the removable roof mechanism, everything is thoroughly evaluated. Only three people are qualified to test the Mistral before it's handed over to its owner.
Bugatti Mistral test drive before delivery
13
Source: Bugatti
As one era draws to a close, another is about to begin. Bugatti will start
Tourbillon
deliveries in 2026, strictly as a coupe, though a follow-up roadster seems like an educated guess. The Chiron's successor might be even faster, as company CEO Mate Rimac has hinted that with the right tires, the new V-16 hypercar could break the 500 km/h barrier. That's
310.6 mph
.
Bugatti's CEO Knows What's What:
Bugatti Boss on Turbocharged Hybrid Supercars: 'I Don't Get It'
Bugatti's Boss Owns and Drives a Volkswagen Golf R32
Share this Story
X
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tesla sales down 13.5% in Q2
Tesla sold 384,122 cars in the second quarter, down nearly 60,000 cars, or 13.5% from the sales total a year ago. This marks the largest year-over-year drop in sales in Tesla's history, although it is up 14.1% from its first quarter total. Industry registration data indicates that both US and European sales have fallen sharply, despite an overall increase in electric vehicle (EV) sales in both markets. Tesla also faces increased competition, not only from legacy Western automakers but also from Chinese manufacturers. This competition has significantly impacted Tesla's sales in China, the largest market for both EVs and auto sales, and Tesla's second-largest market. Tesla is poised to lose its title as the world's largest EV maker based on annual sales to Chinese automaker BYD, even though BYD does not sell cars in the US market. BYD has reported it has sold one million EVs in the first half of this year, exceeding Tesla's year-to-date total of around 721,000 units. Analysts point out that while Tesla has recently given its popular Model Y an update, it lacks a more affordable product offering – which has created an opportunity for rivals such as BYD, especially in China. BYD also sold more fully electric cars in Europe than Tesla for the first time ever in April. There are also suggestions that high-profile political activity in the US from CEO Elon Musk has also kept potential Tesla buyers away. "Tesla sales down 13.5% in Q2" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Huawei makes bold claim with 3,000 km-range electric car battery
Chinese technology giant Huawei is best known for its mobile phones and 5G equipment - and for being the subject of scrutiny by some Western governments over its ties to China's ruling Communist Party. But in recent years the company has parked its tank on the auto industry lawn, launching its first electric car in 2021 to join China's automotive expansion that has seen compatriot manufacturer BYD overtake Tesla as the world's leading electric car seller while others like Leapmotor, Xpeng and SAIC also thrive. Now it seems Huawei wants to make a next great leap forward with solid-state batteries - described as a 'holy grail' for the electric vehicle sector - by filing a patent for a battery that could power a car for up to 3,000 kilometres and take around 5 minutes to charge. Huawei's claim has been met with scepticism: some analysts believe such a battery would be as heavy as a small hatchback and others question whether it could even be manufactured. But BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are among the many leading car makers to say they are aiming to develop solid-state, while Stellantis - the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Peugeot, among others - recently announced "a significant step forward on the path to bringing next-generation electric vehicle (EV) batteries to market" with US-based Factorial Energy, "Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries offer higher energy density and faster charging," Stellantis said. Drivers considering switching from petrol or diesel engines to electricity-powered cars have faced so-called range anxiety: can the car get from A to B without its battery depleting and are there enough charging points en route? Other disadvantages compared to combustion engines are the length of time it takes to charge compared to the couple of minutes needed to fill a tank at any of the far more widespread fuel stations. "The lack of fast-charging options is a major roadblock for potential electric vehicle buyers," the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) warned last year, claiming that the continent will need an eight-fold expansion of charging points by the end of the decade if the "mass adoption" of electric cars is to come about. BYD has since announced it will install a network of its "flash chargers" across Europe. Speaking to journalists in Brussels last month, vice president Stella Li claimed the planned roll-out "will be a game changer that will boost consumer confidence in electric driving."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Behold, the epic flop that is the Cybertruck
A version of this story appeared in the CNN Business Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. It might not come as a shock if you have eyes, but the Cybertruck is, officially, a flop. Tesla is deliberately opaque about its sales numbers on specific models, so you have to squint to get a sense of just how badly the company's dystopian dumpster on wheels is performing in the real world. But we definitely have some idea. Here's what we know, based on Tesla's deliveries (a proxy for sales) released this week: The EV maker delivered about 384,000 vehicles in total, world-wide, between April and June this year — a record 13.5% decline from a year earlier. Zoom in, and it gets uglier. Tesla doesn't break out sales of the Cybertruck, one of its 'premium' models that was plucked straight from CEO Elon Musk's internet-addled brain. It discloses just two categories — the Model 3 and Y in one category and, in the second, 'other models,' which is almost entirely the company's legacy Model S sedan, the Model X SUV and the Cybertruck. The company said it delivered about 10,400 'other' models in the second quarter, which itself is a huge problem. In the same quarter last year, Tesla sold more than 21,500 'other' models. It's hard to think of another word for a 52% decline other than a collapse. How many of those 'others' are Cybertrucks, and how many are the Model S or X? That's not entirely clear. But let's look at the first three months of this year. Tesla sold about 12,900 'other' models, of which 7,100 were Cybertrucks, according to registration data from S&P Global Mobility. So a bit more than half. It'd be safe to estimate, then, that Tesla likely sold something in the ballpark of 5,000-6,000 Cybertrucks in the second quarter if consumer trends held steady. It might even be getting marginally outsold by the F-150 Lightning and GM's electric pickups, rivals whose sales are also falling but weren't nearly as hyped as Musk's brainchild. The company didn't respond to a request for comment. But even in a hypothetical world where all of those 10,400 deliveries in the second quarter were Cybertrucks, Tesla would still be massively underperforming the expectations set by Musk, who told investors two years ago that he expected Tesla to be churning out 250,000 a year by 2025. We're halfway through the year, and Tesla has barely hit a fraction of that. What could possibly be holding Cybertruck sales back, apart from its $80,000-$100,000 price tag and the imminent erasure of EV tax credits? Perhaps it's the oddball design. Or the repeated recalls, including one for an exterior steel panel falling off while the truck is moving. Or the roughly 200-mile real-world range reported by owners, rather than the 500-mile range that was initially promised. Or the lack of the also initially-promised range extender, which quietly disappeared. Or the vehicle's intractable affiliation with the world's wealthiest wannabe-oligarch. Or maybe people fear dropping six figures on a 7,000-pound car that has become a symbol of the MAGA right wing and a target of vandalism. Will the Cybertruck's shortcomings sink Tesla? Probably not. But the stumble has become a reflection of the company's broader turmoil. The electric truck faces serious competition from the likes of Rivian, Ford and GM. Chinese rivals are eating into Tesla's market share in key markets overseas, particularly Europe and China. Tesla is on the verge of losing its title as the world's largest EV maker by annual sales to Chinese automaker BYD. This week, BYD — which isn't allowed in the US market — reported 1 million electric vehicles sold in the first half of this year, putting it far ahead of Tesla's year-to-date total of about 721,000. The Tesla faithful on Wall Street are still all-in on Musk, whom they see as a visionary and, perhaps more to the point, a showman who has made them rich. Tesla's stock (TSLA) is down about 17% this year, but it's up nearly 300% over the last five years. For the ride-or-die bulls, it may not matter that Musk's MAGA turn has clobbered the company's core business of selling cars because he has convinced them that Tesla's future lies in an AI-powered, driverless utopia. And it's Musk's history of promises that have driven that meteoric share price increase, and, accordingly, Musk's personal wealth. But the longer Musk is at the helm, the more his promises and predictions seem to come up short.
