In the hypercar world, Pagani has always stood out, courtesy of a fusion of outlandish design layered with classic Italian extravagance and smattered with gorgeous craftsmanship. Pagani cars are more like pieces of art; not dictated by technology or headline-grabbing performance figures. While Rimac, Koenigsegg and Bugatti fight the power wars, the Italian marque resorts to the old-school; delivering a hypercar that is bursting at the seams with its infectious personality. We saw it with the Zonda and the Huarya, and now its third hypercar follows the same philosophy. The new Pagani Utopia shuns the modern-day complexities of automotive design in favour of a simple yet delectable recipe.
The new Pagano Utopia, just like its predecessors, gets a sonorous AMG-developed twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V-12 with 852 horsepower with no electric motor in sight. The Utopia is not a hybrid, nor does it have a complicated double-clutch gearbox. Instead, it gets two options: a seven-speed manual or an automated transmission. Yes, a manual gearbox option with a V12. Where else would you get that?
In a way, the Utopia is a digital detox in the world of hypercars and Horacio Pagani set himself three simple goals with this new car; simplicity, lightness, and the pleasure of driving. Even the name, Utopia has been taken from the philosopher Thomas More’s famous book in 1516 and nicely portrays the direction which Pagani wants to take with this car.
In design terms, the new car is full of active aerodynamics and made from ‘Carbo-Titanium’ while displaying the wizardry in terms of modelling carbon fibre into a sculpture. The shape of the Utopia is also a homage of sorts to the Zonda while also harking back to the jet-age of 1950s design with the streamlined headlamps of Vespa scooters or the fittings of Riva speedboats serving as an inspiration.
The stunning door mirrors and the titanium quad exhausts look more like jewellery pieces rather than functional bits of design. The Utopia also gets large 21-inch wheels at the front and 22-inch wheels at the rear. Pagani has steered clear of adding a large spoiler as instead the streamlined shape itself brings greater downforce and reduces drag solely based on its design.
The interior on the other hand, feels like sitting inside a painting with its myriad of shapes and various design patterns blended with metal. In a sense, you could argue that this vehicle is automotive design at its peak. Pagani has delivered everything you’d expect and more, highlighted by stunning details such as the exposed gear lever mechanism and the analogue instruments with ‘real dials’. There are no big screens, though the only big change in the Utopia is the new steering wheel, which now incorporates an airbag. Pagani will only make 99 of these bespoke V12 works of art and they are all sold out at $2.5 million.
