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Disney Releases More Details On Its New Cars-Themed Land
Say hello to Piston Peak National Park.
Last year, Disney announced an entire land dedicated to Pixar’s Cars at its Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando. Aside from a few illustrations that, actually, looked pretty awesome, the details were otherwise scarce. But today, the company has revealed new information on its next big expansion—including a name.
Say goodbye to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America (RIP), and say hello to Piston Peak National Park (which, you probably don’t remember, was a real place in Disney’s Planes: Fire & Rescue movie). The new Cars area will be ripe with thick pine forests and snowy mountain peaks, and include a river that runs through the entire land. It will be the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom.
Disney Imagineers drew inspiration from America’s national parks for this new land, with the Piston Peak mountain range inspired by Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The faux national park will also include a visitor’s lodge, a Ranger headquarters, and walking trails alongside two designated Cars attractions.
The first attraction, an off-road rally-style ride, will allow guests to weave through the forests and over Piston Peak on a trackless ride vehicle with new characters from the Cars franchise. Disney promises it will be “just like a real race.” A second, yet-to-be-named attraction will be geared toward smaller children and families.
Piston Peak National Park will extend from Liberty Square all the way to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and toward the updated Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, which is set to re-open sometime in 2026. Guests who want to experience Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat before work begins on the new land have until July 7.
Disney hasn’t said exactly when the new land will open. But for such a massive expansion, don’t expect to see anything until at least 2027 or 2028.
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Bugatti Reveals Its Final W16 Hypercar Before The V16 Era Begins
The last Mistral signals the demise of Bugatti’s long-running quad-turbo 8.0-liter engine.
2026 will go down in history as one of the most important years for Bugatti. Not only is it leaving the Volkswagen Group, but it’s also calling time on the long-running W16. The 99th and final Mistral marks the end of the road for the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter engine, which made its production debut in the 2005 Veyron. The roadster is the last road car from Molsheim to feature the venerable engine, which also powered the Bolide, an extreme track-only machine limited to 40 units, all of which were built by November 2025.
The last Mistral is fittingly called “The Last of Its Kind” and wears a two-tone Pearl and Sparkle paint finish. Like the 98 cars before it, this roadster is essentially a one-off, as Bugatti invites wealthy customers to personalize their cars down to the smallest details. Whoever ordered the final W16-powered model chose Magnolia and Grey Carbon Matt accents for the interior, where Ettore Bugatti’s signature appears on the headrests, aluminum door sills, and even the inner trim of the engine cover.
As with every other Mistral, the final example underwent 248.5 miles (400 kilometers) of testing before delivery. Every roadster was driven to 186 mph (300 km/h) at an airfield at Colmar Airport in northeastern France before being handed over to its rightful owner. Bugatti carefully selected three highly qualified test drivers to put the Mistral through its paces and ensure each car met the brand’s exacting standards.
Bugatti once said it was done chasing records, but in November 2024, the €5-million Mistral claimed the title of the world’s fastest open-top production car. With Andy Wallace behind the wheel, the one-off W16 Mistral World Record Car reached 282 mph (453.91 km/h) at ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg in Germany.
As for what lies ahead, we already know part of the answer. Earlier this month, Bugatti inaugurated La Manufacture, a new facility capable of building up to 200 cars per year. It’s reasonable to assume models beyond the Tourbillon will eventually be built there, considering the new V16-powered machine is limited to just 250 units. Production of the naturally aspirated, Cosworth-powered hybrid hypercar has yet to begin, as the company is currently tooling up the new facility.
Although Bugatti has stopped building new W16-powered production cars, the ultra-rich can still commission one through the Programme Solitaire. It’s a special initiative for few-offs and even one-offs based on existing models, similar to what Pagani has been doing for years with the Zonda. Only two cars will be built annually, and we’ve already seen a couple of Chiron-based projects: Brouillard and the Veyron-inspired FKP Hommage.
Motor1’s Take: It’s truly the end of an era now that the W16 has officially been retired. Even so, the future looks just as exciting, even if the Tourbillon remains reserved for the one percenters, much like the Chiron and Veyron before it.
It still feels a bit strange that Bugatti has parted ways with the Volkswagen Group after 28 years, but with an enthusiast like Mate Rimac at the helm, the future looks bright.
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