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One of the last new Bugattis built around a roof-optional body and the mighty W16 engine is about to change hands very publicly. According to a new listing from RM Sotheby's, a nearly untouched 2025 Bugatti Mistral showing just 321 miles is set to cross the block this August during the house's Monterey 2026 sale, carrying a pre-auction estimate of $7.5 million to $9.5 million. The lead image above comes courtesy of RM Sotheby's own auction photography.
The Mistral holds a unique place in Bugatti's modern lineage. It is the final roadgoing model built around the quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter W16 that powered the Veyron and Chiron for nearly two decades, and it caps that engine's production run in open-top form only. Just 99 examples were built, and all were reportedly claimed by buyers before the car was even revealed publicly.
Output checks in at 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque, numbers that translate into a 0-60 mph run in the low two-second range and a verified 282.05 mph top speed. That figure makes the Mistral the fastest open-top production car ever built, a title it earned during factory testing in 2023.
Rather than fit a folding roof, Bugatti built the Mistral as a true roadster from the start, pairing it with a carbon fiber emergency cover for use only while parked. Sculpted intakes sit just behind the two seats to feed the engine, while X-shaped taillights and a quartet of vertical LED front lighting elements give the car a silhouette unlike anything else Bugatti has built. Inside, a milled aluminum gear selector houses an amber-cast rendition of Rembrandt Bugatti's Dancing Elephant sculpture, tying the car back to the marque's earliest history.
This particular example, part of what RM Sotheby's calls the Driver's Philosophy Collection, is finished in Italian Red over Nocturne with an Italian Red and Beluga Black leather interior. It has had a single owner, carries roughly $325,000 in factory options, and comes with its window sticker copy, factory car cover, battery tender, tool kit, and owner's manuals. The car is listed as lot 226 and will be offered on Friday, August 14, 2026, in Monterey, California.
For a sense of how Bugattis of this caliber tend to hold value over time, Hagerty's Valuation Tools are a useful reference point. In the Hagerty Price Guide, a number 3 condition (Good) 2010 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is valued at roughly $1.85 million, while standard Veyron coupes and Grand Sport convertibles from the early 2010s land between $1.5 million and $1.55 million in similar condition. Earlier Bugattis have climbed too: the low-volume 1992 EB110 GT is valued around $1.2 million, and pre-war Type 57 models now trade in the $440,000 to $575,000 range. That steady upward trajectory across generations suggests a car as scarce as the Mistral, built in a run of only 99 with barely any mileage on the clock, has real room to appreciate well beyond its already substantial estimate.
The Mistral's Monterey debut lands during one of the richest weeks on the collector car calendar, alongside other headline-grabbing consignments like a one-of-one manual Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SV also heading to RM Sotheby's without reserve. Buyers chasing exotic metal this summer can browse more of it in our roundup of the 10 coolest supercars for sale on Motorious right now, and sellers weighing their own consignment might want to read up on which paint colors help or hurt at auction before sending a car to the block.