The Huayra car model, to refresh your memory, is Pagani’s heavy Second Album. It’s the successor to the iconic Zonda car, and it’s all about ‘more’: more power, more torque, more opulence. And more money.
Pros:
The performance, the mileage, the finish, the lightness, the overwhelming sense of occasion.
Cons:
The single-clutch gearbox is extremely last-week. And the noise is fascinating, but it’s no howling Zonda.
The engine is smaller and twin-turbocharged, for higher torque. The gearbox tasked with coping is automatic this time – but an old-school automated manual prioritizes lightness over shift speeds.
Twin-turbocharged V-12 life in the middle of the car. Sourced from Mercedes-AMG, this engine generates 791 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque. A 7-speed single-clutch automatic sends power to the front wheels. Pagani model notes that this single-clutch setup is lighter than a dual-clutch transmission.
It delivers 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds and goes on to a top speed of 210mph. The Huayra is a car of crazy performance, delivered in a slightly relaxed way. The throttle response is soft. The turbos do nothing below 2,000rpm, they start to rise by 2,300rpm, and at 3,000rpm, you’re into hyperspace.
Fuel-economy of the car figures hasn’t been released for the 2020 Huayra.
A convertible-roofed car should have an interior you’re proud to show off. This is likely the most spectacular car cabin of all time. Sitting above the occupants is a removable carbon-fiber roof with a glass insert. The supple leather is used lavishly, and wood accents help give the cabin a warm and inviting ambiance. The front seats have graphic lines, and their curves mimic the bold forms of the car’s sheet metal. A four-point seatbelt keeps you strapped in tight during hard turns.
The Huayra’s titanium-infused tub is more durable than the material Pagani’s earlier used. Because of the roof is a manually extractable slither of carbon and glass, the Huayra Roadster weighs just 1,280 kg dry. Compared to the claimed dry weight of the hard-top Huayra – 1,350kg – that’s a massive saving of 70kg. Gullwing doors are notoriously heavy.
Pagani is known around the world for its outrageous design and performance that match it. As it turns out, the Pagani Huayra car model’s airbag features are just not good enough for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For that reason, Pagani Huayra is on the banned list in the United States.