Pagani

There are more than a few people who have been quick to jump on Kazunori Yamauchi and his company, Polyphony Digital, for the glacially-slow gestation of Gran Turismo 5, the latest installment in the Playstation-exclusive cash cow franchise. After all, trans-Pacific rival Turn 10 Studios has released a pair of Forza Motorsport titles – numbers 2 and 3 – since GT5 development began in earnest about five years ago. Surely the Tokyo-based developer couldn’t have anything up its sleeve to make its latest product worth all that waiting…right?

Well, at last year’s E3 it was announced that GT5 would feature licensed content from both NASCAR and the World Rally Championship, and this year’s E3 saw confirmation of collaboration with your favorite motoring program and ours, Top Gear, as well as damage rendering that includes rollovers and variable time-of-day. But for those of you who thought Yamauchi and Co. had run out of awesome bombs to drop, guess again. In fact, at this week’s Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, they brought enough awesome bombs to lay waste to a city’s worth of naysayers.

It’s hard to believe that, less than 15 years ago, most car buffs had never heard of Horacio Pagani. But when he unleashed the first supercar bearing his name (the angular, Mercedes-Benz V12 powered Zonda C12) upon the world in 1999, most petrolheads (and more than a few non-petrolheads) became accutely aware of the Argentinean designer and his work. Now, the last lines of the original Zonda’s chapter in Pagani history are being written, but not before one last bombshell.

You see, there’s an anonymous U.S.-based supercar collector who wanted a Zonda that is uniquely his (Rumor has it he will keep the car in Switzerland, since the Zonda is not street legal over here.). The result of his consultations with Mr. Pagani and his team is rendered here before us, wearing the name Zonda HH. No, we don’t know what the extra letters stand for either (Hugh Hefner? Hubba Hubba? Hyperventilating Hippopotami?).

Last January, the Pagani Zonda R made its debut in Vienna. It was built to appease a 3-time Zonda owner who wanted something a little more track-oriented than the "normal" Zonda. Yeah, I always thought the 700hp,  RWD Zondas were a little soft (insert sarcastic eye roll). Well Pagani said ok, and built the 750hp Zonda R. 

Adding a more aggressive aerodynamic design, a flat belly pan, and stripping the interior, this car is made for the racetrack (and is not street legal). A little over a year later, Zonda, in partnership with Runimation Studios, has released a teaser video of the R. It has not one, but three Zonda Rs being driven on a race track. They didn't let a little rain spoil their fun, if anything it simply adds to the spectacle that is Zonda. Without having to appease the emissions people, these sound like F1 cars.  I can't wait to see what they do on a sunny day. Enjoy.  

Drawing to a close the reign of the Pagani Zonda Cinque, it was only appropriate that a one-off special edition of this hypercar be unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The Tricolore pays homage to the Italian air force acrobatic team, who go by the name of the Frecce Tricolore. The Zonda Cinque was already rare and uber-exotic, but the Tricolore takes things to the next level with a carbon-titanium weave construction that is kept exposed and lacquered in clear blue.

Naturally, red, white and green go into the mix as colored stripes running from the tip of the nose in two strands towards back of the hood. The car also sports LED running lights. The cost for this very special offering from Pagani will be 1.3 million Euros. We are eagerly awaiting the C9, Pagani's next-generation supercar which will replace the decade old Zonda.

Pagani may be a low-volume producer of high-end automobiles but you have to give them credit for being able to use the same basic platform to come out with variation after variation of some pretty phenomenal cars. The new 2010 Pagani Cinque Roadster is no exception. It's essentially a convertible version of the Pagani Cinque Coupe which is just a street-legal version of the Zonda R track monster. But somehow each new slight adaptation seems to wet our appetite just the same.

The limited-edition Zonda Cirque is one of the most exclusive vehicles in the world, with only five ever put up for sale. Peter Saywell is a man that wouldn't take "sorry sir, we're all sold out" for an answer. So, the story goes he commissioned Pagani to create a special one-off version, known as the Pagani Zonda PS (the man's initials.) Telling the two vehicles apart is actually pretty easy. The PS is quite distinct featuring a silver and black paint job accented with yellow trim and four centrally mounted tail pipes in rear.

This very cool timepiece is enginered by Cvstos for Pagani. As the first licensed mechandised related to the Zonda, Cvstos had to make sure their execution was flawless. As for branding, I've seen two variations in the marketplace. One with the Pagani name listed across the top of the watch with Zonda F scripted across the edge of the bottom portion. And the other with the Cvstos name across the top and Pagani running on the bottom with Zonda F scripted along the lower edge.

Of course, the Cvstors Pagani Zonda F chronograph takes its inspiration directly from the supercar. The rotor resembles the wheel of the car and is fully viewable through the clear sapphire chrystal caseback. The sub-dials of the face are pattered after the Zonda's unique exhaust pipes.  And the crown and pushpin mimics the dials inside the car. No pricing information is available yet.

Source: Cvstos

Created at the strong behest of an Italo-American customer who was already the proud owner of 3 (yes 3) Zondas, the latest iteration from Pagani is a track only variant without limitations. The wheelbase and length were increased and additional body work tweaked for maxumum aerodynamics and downforce. Extended front bonnets with flaps, a sealed underbody as well as an adjustable rear wing and diffuser all aid in this regard. The Pagani Zonda R not a street legal vehicle. 

Zonda tapped Mercedes-Benz AMG to procure the class leading engine from the CLK GTR, which puts out 750 hp and 524 lb-ft of torque. Specs list the car at a top speed of 248 mph and a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds. A carbon-fiber high-performance intake is located on the front end, pulling air in and pushing it out an F1 inspired exhaust in the rear. A six-speed manual sequential synchronised gearbox is installed for aggressive driving.