Pagani is resisting the drive to electrification by using a 6.0-litre Mercedes-AMG V12 with 635kW and 1100Nm for its new Utopia.
Pagani is not giving up on petrol power and has the car to prove it – the Utopia – as the Italian hypercar company unveils its third model for its third decade.
The car’s name means ‘perfect place’, and company founder Horatio Pagani said it is the result of a development program running for six years and including everything from 4000 styling diagrams to eight full-scale prototypes.
The car was unveiled at the Teatro Lirico theatre in Milan, Italy, but there is no information yet on its performance or price.
The production run for the Utopia will, however, be limited to 99 cars.
The key numbers are the output figures for the car’s Pagani-specific 6.0-litre twin-turbo Mercedes-AMG V12 – 635kW at 6000rpm, and 1100Nm spread from 2800 to 5900rpm – and it can also spin to 6700rpm.
Pagani claims the engine is clean enough to pass California emission standards, although it gives no details on exactly how efficient it is.
The proof of the minimalist approach to Pagani’s new hypercar is its seven-speed manual gearbox, complete with an old-school clutch pedal.
There is also a seven-speed automated manual available, as the Utopia continues with rear-wheel drive and an electro-mechanical differential.
The cabin is fully analogue, without the giant infotainment display that dominates almost every car dashboard and instead using a bank of traditional switches and gauges.
The heart of the Utopia is a a carbon-fibre and steel chassis – described by the company as “Pagani Carbo-Titanium HP62 G2 and Carbo-Triax HP62 with front and rear tubular subframes in CrMo steel” – which contributes to the low weight of 1280 kilograms.
The suspension has forged aluminum wishbones and electronically-controlled adaptive dampers, with Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes using six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear.
The front wheels are 21 inches and the rears are 22 inches, all fitted with bespoke Pirelli tyres with a silhouette of the Utopia on the sidewalls.
The styling of the Utopia is more restrained than Pagani’s previous creations, the Huayra and Zonda, but still has signature design touches including the four-pipe exhaust outlet and the shape of the headlights.
“After being completely absorbed by this strenuous creative process, the ideals represented by the project became so intimate to
me, that any attempt to describe it would have seemed inadequate,” Pagani founder and CEO, Horatio Pagani, said in an official press release.
Details of Australian availability and pricing are yet to be confirmed.
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