Monday 18th June 2018

Showpiece of the Week: Pagani Huayra 'Tempesta'

If there's £2m burning a hole in your pocket and the Holy Trinity doesn't appeal, there is a more traditional alternative...

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In a bizarre way, it's hard not to feel a little bit sorry for the Pagani Huayra. Here is a 730hp Italian V12 supercar, launched from what has very quickly become one of Italy's most famous manufacturers, and yet it's never quite become as revered as many expected.

While launched to considerable acclaim - you can see Chris Harris's verdict here - circumstances rather conspired against the Huayra. It was launched in 2012, just a few months before the hybrid Holy Trinity of LaFerrari, 918 and P1 changed the hypercar game. Not only that, but it was one of the first fast cars of recent years to endure the agonising switch from high-revving, atmospheric engine to a turbocharged replacement. Powerful and monstrously torquey though its twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 was, for emotional appeal it was always going to struggle against the Zonda's operatic 7.3.

Ah yes, the Zonda. Like the elder sibling that won't relinquish the limelight, Pagani's insistence on creating yet more one-off Zondas once the Huayra was in production did rather undermine the newer car. While you can't deny Pagani the opportunity to make money, that attention remained on the Zonda for so long looked odd from the outside.

Then there was the Huayra BC, arguably the making of the Huayra. Named after Horacio Pagani's mentor Benny Caiola, the BC was lighter, faster and more focused than the standard car. It also looked truly wild, which always helps.

This Huayra isn't a BC; rather it's a Tempesta, a car which took the lessons learnt from the BC to create a handling pack for the base car. As such it featured exactly the same underbody as the special edition cars, four-way adjustable Ohlins dampers, forged aluminium wheels, and a titanium exhaust. Moreover it was developed by Dallara, no strangers to setting up very fast Italian things on four wheels. Consider it like the HGTE package that Ferrari offers for its supercars, introducing a sharpness and attitude that wasn't in the standard car, and that's what the Tempesta represents.

Except, this being Pagani, the handling pack was taken to the extreme, costing €160,000 alone. Still, if you're buying a car as expensive as a Huayra, what's a mere 160k between friends?

This right-hand drive Tempesta was registered last year and has covered just 700 miles. Combine that with its rarity - just 100 'standard' Huayras have been made (including Tempestas), alongside a few more Roadsters and BCs - and that'll help explain the £2.2m asking price. Yep, two million. And a bit. Which opens up a few other options, to be honest...

If you want a Pagani, there will be all manner of Zondas available at this money, and each member of the Holy Trinity is priced at £2m (or thereabouts). That's before you consider any of the hypercar icons, too, like this Ferrari F50 currently for sale at £2,295,000.

That said, it's hardly like the Huayra is going to be your only supercar if there's £2m spare for a car purchase. To tick off a box in a collection, to add to a group of Zondas or for another space in an Italian stallion stable, the Huayra easily makes a case for itself. It is, after all, a Huayra made even better, and with a cool name to boot. What on earth Horacio and his team will come up with next, we can't wait to see.

See the original advert here.

[pycraft]

After the "Jaguar electric powerboat" article last week, we seem to have a Pagani speedboat alternative here. I'm just surprised they'd make a boat that looks so much like a car, but it seems to float OK.