Each car make on the planet has a specific purpose, they all want to sell their cars and make money. Not every company goes about this the same way. When someone like Ford creates a car they build it for function so the steering rack or steering gear box are all there to “work” but not to make the driver passionate. Small car companies are usually more interested in creating a driving experience that inspires the driver to feel passion for the car or for driving. Companies such as Ferrari and Lotus are more about the way a driver feels then about mass producing a cheap hatchback for the general public. Even Ferrari and Lotus have quotas to meet and huge companies to satisfy. Pagani on the other hand is a completely different type of company they are built around one man’s dream.
Horatio Pagani set out years ago to make a car that was his dream and the idea was simple. Make the fastest car they could possible build and who cares how much it cost. The car had to look good and make the driver feel like a 12 year old boy staring at a poster of a supercar on his wall. The first car that was built was called the Zonda which quickly took the top spot on most people dream car list…that includes my own. After about a decade the Zonda’s production run has come to an end and while that is sad it means there is a new model that is ready to make us all green with envy.
Over the last few years Pagani has been upgrading and testing higher and higher performance parts in their track versions of the Zonda all for the purpose of installing these exact parts in their new street car. A year ago we got the first few glimpses of what they were planning and what a shockingly beautiful creation it is now that it has come into full view. This new car is called the Huayra and if you are having trouble saying it, it sounds like this “why-ra”. This car was built from conception to production all on the vision of Horatio and has now finally hit the streets of the USA but only for a test drive with Jay Leno in the passenger seat. It will be another year before any of us can get behind the controls. Of course to get behind the wheel the size of the check you will have to write will be bigger than the mega mansion you will live in. There is no way to soften the blow…its 1.5 million dollars. It is a small price to pay for the most exciting car that has ever been built for the streets and even better…the US streets.
