6’47
The landmark moment came seven years ago, when the Pagani Zonda R — with the M120 6.0-litre engine straight out of the CLK-GTR race car — set a lap time of 6’47.50 at the Nürburgring. The car wasn’t road-legal or even track-legal, not qualifying to meet any racing series either, thanks to its incredible sound output levels. The Zonda R made 750 PS and weighed just 1,070 kg — a power-to-weight ratio of 701 PS/tonne. It would do 0-100 km/h in 2.7 seconds and top 350 km/h. Needless to say, it inspired the Zonda 760RS and the Zonda Revolucion, the latter of which had 800 PS, started at US$ 2.8 million (Rs 18.5 crore), and saw only five examples produced. Pagani will still build you a Zonda, but you’ll need to cough up in the region of €2.5 million (Rs 19 crore+).
Huayra
The second model from Pagani, the Huayra, came to be in 2012. Named after the Quechua god of wind, it was the first model to feature the AMG M158: a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 with 730 PS and 1,000 Nm. Pagani himself wanted the driving experience to be fluid and uncompromised, even with the twin turbochargers. The Huayra retained the exceptional craftwork resulting from meticulous attention to detail.
In late 2016, the Huayra BC was introduced, with the V12 turned up to 800 PS and 1,100 Nm. The Huayra Roadster, the open-top version of the first coupé, was introduced earlier this year. The V12, in here, makes 764 PS and “more than 1,000 Nm”.
All of Pagani’s engines are hand-built at the AMG facility in Affalterbach and feature a plaque encrusted with the name of the building technician.
