At any point in the history of Pagani supercars, a new 6.0-litre V12 would be tremendously exciting news; in 2021, however, with naturally aspirated engines a dying breed, it's a sensational development. We all assumed the ultimate Huayrawould retain the twin-turbocharged V12 - how wrong we were...
You'll probably know the salient details of Pagani's 'V12-R' race engine by now - 850hp at 8,800rpm, a redline at 9,000rpm and a total weight of just 198kg - but now's the chance to hear it. And, well, be prepared to have your head blown off. Rigged up at the HWA test dyno, running gears to the limiter, sending enormous heat through the Inconel exhaust and sounding for all the world like an old V12 F1 car, it's the most exciting 50 seconds seen (or heard) on YouTube for a long time.
Despite the fiendish complexity that must come with building something like this, Horacio Pagani had quite simple aims for the V12-R: "The new engine had to have the charm, romance, sound and simplicity of the F1 engines of the 1980s, while incorporating state-of-the-art technology available today." We'd say those objectives have been wholeheartedly met. Imagine what it might sound like in real life...
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