Carson's Car Pics

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Bugatti Mistral

The Mistral is the latest droptop hypercar from Bugatti and the end of the line for Bugatti’s famed W16 engine. It was first revealed in 2022, and its W16 engine is a 8.0-liter quad-turbo unit with 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels. The launch from zero to 60 mph in the Mistral occurs in 2.3 seconds, and its top speed is rated at 261 mph. In fact, during a high-speed test run in Germany two years ago, the Mistral hit 282 mph, making it the fastest open-top car in the world. Basically all of the Mistral's performance figures and internal components are shared with the Chiron. However, the Mistral and Chiron feature completely different bodywork and exterior designs. Besides the 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine, both the Mistral and Chiron share a carbon-fiber structure assembled by Dallara in Italy and a practically identical timeless, minimalist, and ultra-premium interior layout. While it is designed to be topless, Bugatti supplied the Mistral with a clip-in fabric roof for emergencies such as inclement weather, and the vehicle can only travel at speeds up to 100 mph when the fabric roof is in place. A wind deflector located behind the seats has also been added to the Mistral since it is an open-air roadster.

Only 99 examples of the Bugatti Mistral were produced from 2024 until the middle of this year. All 99 units of the Mistral were spoken for as soon as it was announced, and each example carried a starting price of around $5 million. Replacing the Chiron and Mistral in the Bugatti portfolio is the Tourbillon, which is motivated by a V16 mated to three electric motors and primed to be even faster.

Pictured here is the first Bugatti Mistral that I have ever seen in person, which I found parked with several other supercars outside of the Cypress Inn in Carmel during Monterey Car Week last month. This Mistral and some other supercars parked by the Cypress Inn during Car Week were provided by Greenwich, Connecticut-based exotic car dealership Miller Motorcars as part of their showcase display at that particular hotel. This qualifies as more of a top spotting moment despite the Miller Motorcars showcase display having more of a car show feel to it. Not only was the Mistral one of the coolest and most impressive cars at the Miller Motorcars showcase display, it was certainly one of the top vehicles I was most thrilled to see up close throughout the one day I traveled to the Monterey area for Car Week this year. Overall, the Bugatti Mistral is an absolutely stunning and amazing topless hypercar, and it currently represents the pinnacle for convertibles and roadsters in terms of performance and opulence. Enjoy and stay tuned for more unique exotic supercars I spotted in Carmel during Monterey Car Week coming up in the next several posts.

Vehicle Specifications Sources: Road and Track, Robb Report, DuPont Registry

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Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Best of Ferrari Concours Carmel 2026

The second car show I attended during the one day I was in the Monterey area for Car Week this year was the Ferrari Concours in Carmel. This was following my first stop at the Legends of the Autobahn show in Pacific Grove that day, and as a result of getting the full experience at Legends of the Autobahn and the commute from Pacific Grove to Carmel taking about an hour due to traffic, I definitely missed some display vehicles at Ferrari Concours. Despite having only made it to the final hour or so of this particular show, I was able to catch a good chunk of display cars there, which consisted of 99 percent Ferraris spread out over a few blocks of Ocean Avenue and some surrounding streets in Downtown Carmel. The other one percent of display vehicles at Ferrari Concours were a section of Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, and Lancias, all of which were not as amazing as most of the Ferraris that participated in this specific show. Besides the incredible vehicle selection, the other aspects of Ferrari Concours that I enjoyed were the great weather and Carmel’s beautiful scenery. I also saw a few familiar faces in Carmel during and after the Ferrari Concours show, but not as many as I did during Legends of the Autobahn.

This compilation showcases the coolest and my favorite display cars that I was able to see and take photos of at this year’s Ferrari Concours show in Carmel, narrowed down to the top 20 entries in no particular order. If I had the opportunity to see and photograph more of what the Carmel Ferrari Concours show had to offer this year, I can guarantee that this compilation would look pretty different and potentially get split into two parts. Overall, Ferrari Concours Carmel was a great show, and I am fortunate to have made it there and caught what appeared to be a majority of its display cars following the Legends of the Autobahn show. Enjoy and stay tuned for a variety of unique exotic supercars I spotted in Carmel that were not part of the Ferrari Concours show coming up in the next several posts.

Ferrari 288 GTO