There are a few undeniable automotive and racing legends that I truly admire: Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini and Ayrton Senna. I did not have the good fortune to meet these outstanding personalities during their lifetimes, but I did have the incredible opportunity to meet another living legend — Horacio Pagani.
Humble beginnings
While his name sounds distinctly Italian, Horacio Pagani is actually a native of the city of Casilda in Argentina. From a young age, he harbored a unique passion for motorcars and an admiration for Leonardo da Vinci. He not only named his first son after him but also deeply appreciated how da Vinci saw the undeniable bond between art and science.
Building cars came early for Horacio. Even before attending university, he had already built a kit car. He didn’t end up wearing a cap and gown. Instead, he went into business – this would become the first step in a stellar career that would see him making some of the most spectacular cars the world would ever see.
I’d like to think he took to heart the famous words of Friedrich Nietzsche: One cannot fly into flying; one must learn to stand and walk first. And that is what he did. Before building hypercars, Horacio created some fantastic camper vans and then worked at Renault. At Lamborghini, he worked alongside the legendary Maserati automobile engineer Giulio Alfieri. It must have been the turning point in the life of the man who would later become an automotive and design genius.
Exclusive cars
It’s all well and good to talk about someone. But on this occasion, I got to spend a few memorable hours with Horacio Pagani and his son Christopher at Dubai’s Bulgari Hotel as the brand celebrated 25 years since the launch of its first iconic car, the Zonda. At the event, they displayed the Pagani Utopia — their latest and arguably greatest creation — alongside the Zonda F Roadster and the Huayra Roadster.
To give you an idea of how exclusive these cars are, a Pagani would be worth anything between 13 to 20 times the original price. There is no car manufacturer that can claim anything vaguely near that kind of value.
“We have invested in people and in technology. We have created a group of managers, engineers and technicians, and they are very good people. It’s a family business, and it’s a very profitable business. Relative to the turnover, it may be the most profitable in the world. It certainly is in the world of cars,” says Horacio.
The Utopia
This magnificent piece of machinery, with a monocoque chassis and “carbo-titanium” core structure, costs AED 8 million (USD2.19 million) in the region. Don’t get your hopes up, even if you have the cash to splash. Hence, all 99 that will ever be produced have been spoken for.
It is powered by the mighty Mercedes-AMG developed 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 engine. It produces 851 horsepower and 1,097 Nm of torque, and all the power goes to the rear wheels. When it comes to the gearbox, Pagani gives discerning owners the chance to order it with an automated single-clutch gearbox or a seven-speed manual, which could be considered rather unorthodox. Two-thirds of the clients have opted for the pure manual option, which is a wise choice, in my opinion. The Utopia weighs just 1,340 kilograms and rides on 21-inch wheels in front and 22-inch wheels in the rear.
When Horacio set about to build the first-ever Pagani hypercar, the Zonda, there were no customers from whom to attain feedback. Now, he says, “It’s easier because our clients have remained with us for the past 25 years. They have a very clear idea of what they want and what they imagine a Pagani should be. Over the years, we have listened and talked to them. We sold all 99 cars a year before the customers ever saw one. Utopia is a project that started as four hands: Two hands were the factory, and the other two hands were the clients.”
Elegance meets function and power
To the exterior, the design cues are distinctly Pagani. Looking at the rear, the unmistakable ceramic-coated titanium quad exhausts and the symmetrical brake lights epitomize elegance. Overall, the Utopia features sharp and elegant lines that join in harmony while maintaining its aerodynamic functionality for the sort of speeds this hypercar can reach. The 0-100 km/h time ultimately depends on how quickly one can shift gears; it should be around 3.0 seconds, with a top speed of 354 km/h.
Inside, you will not find large, overcompensating touchscreens but rather an elegantly designed digital gauge flanked by elegant dials on each side. In the center, air vents resembling two massive internal exhaust pipes are enough to set this car apart from anything else on the market. Directly underneath, analog gauges and A/C controls flow seamlessly into the ignition button and the rather imposing gear lever.
