Installed in a customer’s Mistral, the marvelous engine helped the roofless Chiron become the fastest open-top production car in history. Bugatti also misspoke about the Mistral’s top speed.

During an organised record attempt at the Papenburg test track in Germany, the Bugatti W16 Mistral reached a maximum speed of 453.91kph. That translates into an astonishing 282mph, making the W16 ...