The Bugatti W16 Mistral ‘La Perle Rare’ is a bespoke, one-of-one roadster that serves as the definitive farewell to the iconic W16 engine era. Created through Bugatti’s Sur Mesure program, it represents the intersection of elite performance and high art. By combining heritage-inspired craftsmanship with a client’s specific creative vision, Bugatti has transformed this hypercar into a “profoundly personal” masterpiece that transcends traditional automotive design.
Born from a meeting at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August 2023, this singular creation emerged through Bugatti’s Sur Mesure atelier — where engineering yields to artistry and vision becomes sculpture. Under the guidance of Jascha Straub, a shared pursuit of the extraordinary transformed an already iconic roadster into something profoundly personal.
Inspired by Bugatti’s hand-painted ‘Vagues de Lumière’ motif — a celebration of light in motion — ‘La Perle Rare’ captures the elemental dialogue between earth and sky. Its body is divided into two bespoke hues:
a warm, gold-infused pearlescent tone crowning the upper surfaces, and a refined warm white embracing the lower form. Together they shimmer like sunlight dissolving into horizon.
The defining white-and-gold dividing line, executed through hundreds of hours of meticulous masking and hand-painting, traces the car’s sculptural contours with jewelry-like precision. Diamond-cut wheels echo this interplay of tones, catching light from every angle — a kinetic symphony of reflection.
Inside, the radiance continues.
White-painted carbon fiber transforms the cockpit into a luminous sanctuary. Warm gold accents flow across concave door panels, ambient lighting glows softly beneath sculpted surfaces, and polished aluminum elements gleam with mirrored clarity. Every detail reflects — quite literally — the pearl-inspired philosophy.
The signature ‘La Perle Rare’, handwritten by Straub himself, appears stitched, engraved, and painted across the car — a mark of intimacy between creator and commissioner.
