RE: Chris Harris video: Driving the Pagani Huayra

RE: Chris Harris video: Driving the Pagani Huayra

Thursday 12th July 2012

Chris Harris video: Driving the Pagani Huayra

Is the Huayra a suitable successor to the legendary Zonda? There is only one way to find out...



It is 10 years since I first drove a Pagani. It was a 7.3-litre Zonda S and, from the moment I rumbled up the road in it – just like everyone else who did the same that day – I knew it wasn’t like any other macro-volume supercar.


It was exquisitely assembled, the carbon tub had a sheen and luxury not seen before on a street car and the noise from V12 was more angry than a Lambo’s.

That engine was, and still is, the key to Pagani’s success. Instead of attempting to build his own engine, he went to AMG and asked to use the company’s vast V12. It immediately gave the car an interest factor and a solid, reliable foundation. And it went like stink.

The Zonda went on to become a legend and it established Pagani as the newest entrant in the supercar sector, right at the time the hypercar was being born. It was the perfect platform from which to launch ever more powerful and expensive versions of the car.


Last year, Pagani unveiled the Huayra, to a global chorus of “Jeeeeepers, that’s not pretty.” The fact that it used a 730hp turbocharged engine only added to suspicions that the Huayra was not a fitting replacement for the Zonda. Just to be clear, I was one of the doubters.

Then Davide Testi dropped by the restaurant we were eating in last Wednesday at 10pm in a Huayra, and the village came to a standstill. The car was dark red, and it looked like heaven on four wheels. My scepticism looked misplaced.

We’re going to do something more extensive with the car later in the year, so this was a first drive on some quite tight roads. You will see that the Huayra left quite an impression.

Enjoy the vid


 

Author
Discussion

Hellbound

Original Poster:

2,500 posts

175 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Good timing munki....just made myself a supersized mug of tea! smile

AnnuityAdviser

603 posts

193 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
What a monster

DB89

781 posts

178 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Awesome awesomeness!

chiefski26

815 posts

200 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Superb looking supercar.

Vilhelm

406 posts

148 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Only Italian supercar I'd own.

peter450

1,650 posts

232 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
That is some machine

JayTee94

10,974 posts

156 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Looks great fun on those roads, shame I think it is ugly at most angles apart from the rear. I still appreciate the detail gone into the design though..

How did it compare to the rental Panda as we all know that nothing handles like a rental.. wink

Vilhelm said:
Only Italian supercar I'd own.
No F40, Zonda Cinque, Aventador etc etc?! smile

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

197 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
So that's why he gets called Monkey - 10:36

Another nice video Mr Harris.

Not that I can afford one, but that exterior design just doesn't work for me I'm afraid.

HowMuchLonger

3,003 posts

192 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Is there any chance you could do a back to back test with this, the Gumpert, and a Koenigsegg?

MJDM

1,048 posts

178 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Another excellent video by Chris and the team. And that car is fcensoredking incredible. 10/10 from me!

Davey S2

13,075 posts

253 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Just amazing.

The only thing I dont like is the noise. Such a shame it can't have the wail of a n/a engine.

Fabulous thing to own though and you would probably get as much pleasure just drinking in all the details and craftsmanship as you would from driving it.

pwrc

2,357 posts

151 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
interesting to see your view compared to a certain ex-employer who has a somewhat more personal view of pagani wink thanks chris.

LongLiveTazio

2,714 posts

196 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Either the roads were tight or 2.35 metres is quite wide for a car. Who knows?!

I don't really know what's going on. A few years ago it was all about light weight, manual, n/a. Now you have the new Pagani that's really not that light, auto, turbo and phenomenally expensive to boot.

I don't care if people like it, just wish the journalistic community wouldn't pretend that nothing other than a certain set of criteria will do until something comes along that pushes their buttons, then said criteria mysteriously disappears.

Vilhelm

406 posts

148 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
JayTee94 said:
No F40, Zonda Cinque, Aventador etc etc?! smile
It's the only new Italian supercar I'd own. Unless they still make the Zonda. Then I'd have a Zonda 760 Vilhelm Edition.

Not a fan of current Ferraris, and the Aventador doesn't really do anything for me. smile

hornbaek

3,670 posts

234 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Excellent video. All aspects of car nicely captured on film.

tomvcarter

1,087 posts

192 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Zonda R for the track, Huayra for the street... done.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
I don't think I've ever got such an impression of pace from a video before. The speed that the revs are climbing through the gears is bonkers. WWWWWWWWWOOOOSH

ETA: wtf at the hyperlink, I didn't do that hehe

Ferosferio

285 posts

149 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
What a machine. That said, the two-tone arrangement on the car in the video does it no favours IMO.

Great stuff again Chris, cheers.

Hellbound

Original Poster:

2,500 posts

175 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
It's such a grower, this one.

At night when it pulled up outside the resaurant, it was a hero's car. The test driver could have bedded any woman that night.

It's not a Zonda, it's something else. And it deserves to be recognized as a stand alone model, and not a successor.

LordFlathead

9,641 posts

257 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
I just loved watching that! What a car. What a report.

Only negative is were the shut-lines all over the place at the front?