Pagani Huayra
Get set for a new supercar that’s designed like an airplane, can really fly, and costs a lofty $1.1 million. The Pagani Huayra marks the U.S. debut for the ultra-exclusive brand founded by a forward-thinking engineer with the soul of an artist and a passion for speed. Media reports about the car's airbag system not meeting U.S. safety regulations assumed that because of that the car wouldn't be sold in the U.S. The latest info says Pagani already had compliant airbags in the works, so sales in the States will only be delayed by several months and slip into calendar-year 2013. We haven't heard an official model year for the first American-spec cars yet, but we suspect they will be 2014s.
What We Know About the 2014 Pagani Huayra
Pagani Huayra (say “pa-GAH-nee he-WHY-rah”). Sounds like a spicy dish at a tony Italian ristorante, but it’s actually a spicy new item on the global menu of mega-buck, mega-fast super sports cars. You’ll find the 2014 Pagani Huayra in the same column as the stupefyingly powerful, frighteningly expensive Bugatti Veyron 16.4. But where the 1,000-horsepower, $1.3 million Veyron comes from a tiny corner of giant Volkswagen Group, the Huayra is the product of a singular Argentina-born designer/engineer named Horacio Pagani and his small group of artisans who turned out just 18 cars in 2010.
Pagani Automobili was formed in 1991 to build Horacio’s first hypercar, the Zonda, which was never designed for U.S. sale. Not so the replacement Huayra, which will be roughly $1.1 million at current exchange rates according to Francesco Zappacosta, the firm’s managing director, speaking to USA Today.
Despite that formidable price, Mr. Pagani expects the 2014 Pagani Huayra to sell well enough that he can eventually double yearly production. And indeed, a new, larger factory is slated to begin rising in 2011 at the company’s home in San Cesario sul Panaro, near the city of Modena in north-central Italy, northwest of Bologna. Still, even at, say, 40 cars a year, Pagani will remain a boutique enterprise next to rivals Ferrari and Lamborghini, also headquartered near Modena and owned by major automakers Fiat and Audi, respectively. Which means the Huayra will be a very rare sight, especially as the company opens for business in the U.S. with just two dealers. And that’s fine with Pagani. As Mr. Zappacosta says, “We’re this small little [company] that tries to make nice cars for people who love us.”
About the name Huayra: It reflects Mr. Pagani’s belief that vehicle aerodynamics is as much art as science. In fact, he likes to quote Leonardo da Vinci’s dictum that art and science should be pursued together, not in isolation. (Hmmm. “Art and Science.” Where have heard that before?) In any case, the name references Huayra Tata, the wind god of legend among the native Aymara people of the Andes.
What We Know About the 2014 Pagani Huayra
Pagani Huayra (say “pa-GAH-nee he-WHY-rah”). Sounds like a spicy dish at a tony Italian ristorante, but it’s actually a spicy new item on the global menu of mega-buck, mega-fast super sports cars. You’ll find the 2014 Pagani Huayra in the same column as the stupefyingly powerful, frighteningly expensive Bugatti Veyron 16.4. But where the 1,000-horsepower, $1.3 million Veyron comes from a tiny corner of giant Volkswagen Group, the Huayra is the product of a singular Argentina-born designer/engineer named Horacio Pagani and his small group of artisans who turned out just 18 cars in 2010.
Pagani Automobili was formed in 1991 to build Horacio’s first hypercar, the Zonda, which was never designed for U.S. sale. Not so the replacement Huayra, which will be roughly $1.1 million at current exchange rates according to Francesco Zappacosta, the firm’s managing director, speaking to USA Today.
Despite that formidable price, Mr. Pagani expects the 2014 Pagani Huayra to sell well enough that he can eventually double yearly production. And indeed, a new, larger factory is slated to begin rising in 2011 at the company’s home in San Cesario sul Panaro, near the city of Modena in north-central Italy, northwest of Bologna. Still, even at, say, 40 cars a year, Pagani will remain a boutique enterprise next to rivals Ferrari and Lamborghini, also headquartered near Modena and owned by major automakers Fiat and Audi, respectively. Which means the Huayra will be a very rare sight, especially as the company opens for business in the U.S. with just two dealers. And that’s fine with Pagani. As Mr. Zappacosta says, “We’re this small little [company] that tries to make nice cars for people who love us.”
About the name Huayra: It reflects Mr. Pagani’s belief that vehicle aerodynamics is as much art as science. In fact, he likes to quote Leonardo da Vinci’s dictum that art and science should be pursued together, not in isolation. (Hmmm. “Art and Science.” Where have heard that before?) In any case, the name references Huayra Tata, the wind god of legend among the native Aymara people of the Andes.
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