There’s something magical about watching Jay Leno behind the wheel of a car like the Bugatti Mistral. Within seconds of pressing the throttle, he breaks into a laugh. Not a forced chuckle, but that kind of pure, uncontrollable grin only 1,600 horses roaring to life can trigger. “This feels like a Miata,” he says, and for a moment, I thought I misheard. But he meant it.
It’s not that the Mistral is light. Far from it. This is a nearly two-ton, open-top hypercar that can kiss 280 mph without breaking a sweat. But when Jay Leno says it feels like a Miata, he’s talking about that weird sense of agility. That moment when a machine defies its own size and moves with such precision, your brain can’t quite believe it.
The W16’s Swan Song
This isn’t just another Bugatti. It’s a farewell letter to one of the most audacious engines ever made, the quad-turbocharged W16. You can hear its turbines hiss like fighter jets as the revs climb, the road blurring beneath its massive tires. Leno, a guy who owns everything from a 1931 Bugatti Type 51 to modern electric supercars, seems genuinely awed by what the Mistral represents. Not just raw power, but the weight of legacy.
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Built Like No Other
Each Mistral undergoes brutal testing before it ever reaches a customer. Thermal cycling, high-speed stability runs, aero fine-tuning, and more. Only 99 of these machines exist, all spoken for. And when Jay Leno says it’s something special, you know you’re witnessing a moment in automotive history.
The Bugatti Mistral is everything you imagine it to be. Ferocious. Elegant. Nearly impossible. But when Jay Leno compares it to a Miata, you realize it’s also unexpectedly fun. And that might just be the biggest surprise of all.
To hear Jay Leno’s full take on the W16 Mistral, check out the complete drive video below.
