The folks at Bugatti in Molsheim, France are celebrating the creation of a car the company calls a “masterpiece” and Canadians have reason to appreciate it too.
We’re talking about the Bugatti W16 Mistral La Perle Rare.
The Mistral is an open-top car built on the same W16 platform as the company’s Chiron hypercar, with only 99 examples made.
The Mistral La Perle Rare version is a one-of-one commission through Bugatti’s Sur Mesure bespoke customization program that makes it unique among the 99.
And, thousands of people got an up-close look at this singular car at the 2026 Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto this winter.
It was the highlight car, raised on a rotating pedestal, at the Grand Touring Automobiles showcase. It was there, thanks to the car’s owner, whoever the owner is.
“Thank you to @bugattitoronto and their client for bringing this masterpiece to the @grandtouringautos display at the 2026 AutoShow,” Grand Touring Automobiles posted on its Instagram account.
Bugatti Toronto is a division of Grand Touring Automobiles, a retailer of high-end autos based in Toronto.
The company did not say who the owner is or whether the person is Canadian, but based on the car’s connection to Bugatti Toronto, odds are good the owner is from the Great White North. So, don’t be surprised if you ever come across the car one day on a Canadian road somewhere.
What is La Perle Rare?
The commissioning of this one-of-one car started in the United States when the client met Jascha Straub, Bugatti’s manager of the Sur Mesure program.
They met in August 2023 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.
Bugatti said its designers immersed themselves into the client’s dream to ensure the car would be an automotive masterpiece and a deeply personal statement.
Hand-painted work of art
Straub came up with the central theme for the car.
It features a two-tone composition with a visual separation between the upper and lower sections of the car.
The company’s colour experts explored different colour themes, arriving at two bespoke colours, one a warm, gold-infused hue, and the other a warm white colour.
Bugatti said creating the dividing lines in the colour theme was an intricate process, which was led by the Bugatti Design Studio in Berlin, Germany.
The car required hand-applied taping and masking and weeks of careful painting across the bodywork.
Wheels interplay with car
The car’s diamond-cut alloy wheels were finished with a specially curated paint mixture to match the car’s bodywork.
This includes a mix of gold and white colours.
Interior pairs with exterior
The cabin of the car continues the theme.
All interior carbon components are finished in white for a jewel-like cabin.
The door panels alternate white and warm gold linework.
Furthermore, the designers integrated warm ambient lighting and subtly illuminated the panels to reinforce a luminous, pearl-inspired theme.
The interior also features machined and polished aluminum trim, with each surface intended to capture light.
Signature engravings
The signature “La Perle Rare” in Straub’s handwriting appears throughout the car.
It is stitched along the central tunnel and engraved on the white-and-gold engine cover.
The signature is also painted under the rear wing.
Dancing Elephant
Images of Rembrandt Bugatti’s iconic Dancing Elephant sculpture appear around the car as well.
The elephant appears in the gear selector casing, in the headrests, and on the body panels behind the front wheels.
Fasted open-top car in the world
The Bugatti W16 Mistral, which is powered by a W16 engine with 1,578 hp, is the fastest open-top car (convertible) in the world.
The car reached a speed of 453.91 km/h (282.05 mph) at the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg in Germany back in 2024.
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