logo
  • Buy
  • Sell
  • Discovery
  • News
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
  • Cars For Sale
    • Dealers
      • Dealer Details
      • Dealer Virtual Tours
      • All Dealer News
    • Aston Martin
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Ferrari
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
  • Car News
    • For Sale
    • Aston Martin
    • Audi
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Drako Motors
    • Ferrari
    • Ford
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Lotus
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
    • Tesla
    • Aftermarket
  • Reviews
  • Watches
  • Lifestyle
    • Celebrity Cars
    • Gear
    • Real Estate
    • Aviation
    • Marine
    • Events
    • Fashion
  • Magazine
    • Issue Previews
    • In The Pages
    • Shop Issues
  • Cars For Sale
    • Dealers
      • Dealer Details
      • Dealer Virtual Tours
      • All Dealer News
    • Aston Martin
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Ferrari
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
  • Car News
    • For Sale
    • Aston Martin
    • Audi
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Drako Motors
    • Ferrari
    • Ford
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Lotus
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
    • Tesla
    • Aftermarket
  • Reviews
  • Watches
  • Lifestyle
    • Celebrity Cars
    • Gear
    • Real Estate
    • Aviation
    • Marine
    • Events
    • Fashion
  • Magazine
    • Issue Previews
    • In The Pages
    • Shop Issues
logo
No Result
View All Result

Behind the Design of the Bugatti W16 Mistral: An Interview With Achim Anscheidt

Gabriel Vega by Gabriel Vega
December 15, 2022
in Bugatti, From The Magazine, Mistral
02 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

Image Source: Bugatti

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Bugatti Design Director Achim Anscheidt discusses the W16 Mistral and more.

This year’s Monterey Car Week was a big one for Bugatti design director Achim Anscheidt, as he and the French carmaker unveiled the W16 Mistral — the brand’s final W16-powered vehicle.

Anscheidt joined Bugatti in 2004 and has worked closely with all of its VW-era products, from the Veyron all the way through to the Chiron and its many variants. The Mistral, however, is different. It required a clean-sheet design, structural changes, and bespoke elements not shared with other models.


57A9820

This article appeared in our December 2022 issue.

Subscribe Now
Buy Single Issue

Amid the Car Week hustle and bustle in August, we sat down with Anscheidt to chat about the Mistral, electrification, and which modern Bugatti is his personal favorite.

03 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

duPont REGISTRY: What was your primary goal when designing the W16 Mistral?

Achim Anscheidt: One of the main targets was certainly to wrap up the great story of the W16 engine. This is the last of its kind celebrating that engine. Stylistically, considering what that means, we had to assess how it would stand in a customer’s collection next to cars like the Chiron, Divo, La Voiture Noire, Centodieci, and Bolide. It’s almost the final piece in a collector’s Lego set.

05 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

dR: Were any parts of your original sketches changed as you moved to the production version?

AA: The car was actually more extreme. A couple of months ago, we were planning to make it a limited run as a show and display homologation. After we saw customer interest and how much the U.S. market means to us, we opted for worldwide homologation. That meant quite a lot of work for us because it needed to pass rollover, side, front, and rear impact tests. The result is what we see now.

11 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

dR: Was the W16 Mistral envisioned as a roadster from the very beginning?

AA: It was. We already have Divo as a car for more lateral acceleration. We already have Centodieci as an homage. We have La Voiture Noire as a one-off, one person, one customer, and we have the Bolide, which is the most extreme way to experience the W16 engine. If we did anything else coupe-wise, it’s just another one of those. So the roadster gets us out of that zone. This is the best for a collector to add to their collection. It’s not just another one-off. It’s something that has never existed before. The “few of” business is tricky. If you do too many “few of” programs, the “few of” becomes the new normal.

13 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

dR: What’s your favorite part of the styling?

AA: Aside from the taillight, it’s the translation of the Bugatti line. We’ve never done such a clean Bugatti line as we find it here. It starts at the horseshoe grille and is indirectly translated to the wheel arch. It’s not directly connected, but your eye continues on. We were able to design a new upper part for the car’s mono structure because it is a roadster, and this line has a chance to be so harmoni- ous and clean. For a car designer, this is great because everything transitions neatly.

01 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

dR: The W16 is a massive engine. How will smaller electrified powertrains affect future proportions and design languages?

AA: A new powertrain will offer opportunities for sure. This is always the most difficult thing. People very often do not know why things look sexy and nice. It is a proportion first. That setup might give us tastier proportions, which we are very happy about. But we are also very sensitive not to throw Bugatti DNA away just because we can. Our customers would not appreciate it if the modern-day Bugatti now looked like a Ferrari or a McLaren. We have such an individual, recognizable DNA from all sides that I think it’s sensible to bring this into the next stage of interpretation.

07 BUGATTI W16 Mistral

dR: Which is your favorite car you’ve designed for Bugatti?

AA: It’s obviously this one. They’re like kids to me. I’ve been responsible for 10 major cars in my career — actually, nine. I’m just finishing up the 10th, which is the Chiron’s successor. The cars we’ve produced over the last four years are very dear to me. They came in an era when Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann forced engineering to do those “few of” projects. This is something that never would’ve happened over the years before. When Winkelmann came to our brand, he opened up these possibilities. It’s been fantastic in my old age to have still the chance to work on cars like this. And that’s the goal moving forward, to keep creating these sorts of expressions.


Responses have been edited for clarity.

Tags: Featured

Related Articles

Snapinsta.app 380266885 829948188836103 1603884691109733479 n 1080

Bugatti Newport Beach Shows The W16 Mistral At An Exclusive Event

by Tyler Rampersaud
September 21, 2023

Southern California’s golden hour serves as a backdrop to this...

BugattiRimac VWofAmerica38

Volkswagen Group of America Secures A U.S. Distribution Deal With Bugatti And Rimac

by Jordan Aquistapace
September 20, 2023

Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) signs deal with Bugatti Rimac...

vlf7zNBFwQA HD

The Triple F Collection Specs Out Their Upcoming Bugatti Mistral Hypercar

by Jordan Aquistapace
September 19, 2023

With an already impressive collection of desirable automobiles, the Triple...

02 BUGATTI Festival Molsheim

The 40th Anniversary Bugatti Festival In Molsheim Celebrated History

by Tyler Rampersaud
September 18, 2023

The three-day event honored the life, legacy, and innovations of...

Load More
Next Post
Ferrari

Ferrari Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary With The 2022 Ferrari Yearbook

2022 gmc hummer ev 184950 475843627

This Green GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 Is A Ludicrous Dream Electric Truck

Porsche Watch Main

Top Automotive-Inspired Watches

duPont REGISTRY
  • Buy
  • Sell
  • News
  • Dealers
Categories
  • Dealer News
  • Real Estate
  • Gear
  • Celebrity Cars
  • Events
More from Motorsport Network
  • Motorsport.com
  • Motorsport.tv
  • Motor1.com
  • Canossa.com
  • Cavallino.com
Contact Us
  • Toll Free 1-800-233-1731
  • International 1-727-573-9339
  • 5972 NE 4th Avenue Miami, FL 33137 USA
© 2022 Motorsport Network. All rights reserved
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Buy
  • Sell
  • Dealers
No Result
View All Result
  • Cars For Sale
    • Dealers
      • Dealer Details
      • Dealer Virtual Tours
      • All Dealer News
    • Aston Martin
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Ferrari
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
  • Car News
    • Aftermarket
    • Aston Martin
    • Audi
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Bugatti
    • Drako Motors
    • Ferrari
    • Ford
    • Jaguar
    • Koenigsegg
    • Lamborghini
    • Land Rover
    • Lotus
    • Maserati
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes Benz
    • Pagani
    • Porsche
    • Rolls-Royce
    • Tesla
  • Reviews
  • Watches
  • Lifestyle
    • Celebrity Cars
    • Gear
    • Real Estate
    • Aviation
    • Marine
    • Events
    • Fashion
  • Magazine
    • Issue Previews
    • From The Magazine
    • Shop Issues
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2023 duPont REGISTRY.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist