Bugatti’s W16 engine says alive with yet another special edition

At this stage we might never see the end of production for Bugatti’s long-standing W16 engine, after the powertrain was wheeled out for a new special edition model.

The Bugatti W16 Mistral Blanc Éternel was made by the in-house Sur Mesure personalisation program, in conjunction with German porcelain maker, Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin.

What results is a Bugatti you really, really won’t want to crash, as a number of surfaces on the outside – and some more on the inside – are made from porcelain, well-known for its beautiful finish but fragile structure.

While the exterior retains the shape of the Mistral, the bodywork is completely bespoke, with its patterns reminiscent of the products made by KPM Berlin.

Black lines accentuate the Mistral’s body, while also making it look two-dimensional from some angles.

Inside there are porcelain covers on the gear selector, window buttons and centre console armrest, well and truly making this version of the two-door hypercar stand out even further.

Powering it continues to be a quad-turbo, 8.0-litre W16 engine, which entered service 20 years ago in the Veyron before going on to power the Chiron and Mistral.

The W16 is now reserved for very special Bugatti projects such as the Brouillard, the Veyron-inspired F.K.P. Hommage and the W16 Mistral ‘Caroline’, but it may not be long for this world.

Bugatti hasn’t officially said when it’ll wrap up production of the W16, however it’s soon to be superseded by a new Cosworth-developed 8.4-litre V16 in the upcoming Tourbillon, which will be assisted by three electric motors.